The doctors’ union is worried about allowing specialised ambulance nurses to administer certain medicines without a prescription.

There were two laws whose aim was “to protect the patient from harm coming from inappropriate therapy, particularly during emergencies,” the Medical Association of Malta said.

Two days ago, the Health Ministry announced it had reached an agreement with the nurses’ union to allow specialised nurses to administer some types of medicine without a doctor’s prescription when patients were rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

The medical association said the Medicines Act “actually completely prohibits” medicine dispensation without a prescription while the Healthcare Professions Act limited it to the medical profession.

“In the age of radio and mobile phones, there is no reason why ambulance personnel should not be obliged to contact doctors before giving on-the-spot treatment,” the doctors’ union said.

It reminded the health authorities that patient safety should never “be sacrificed for political expediency in the face of militant trade unionism”.

It insisted: “Doctors will in no way take the responsibility for unsupervised administration and encourages its members to report such actions immediately to the appropriate authorities.”

The nurses’ union said this statement “clearly showed (the doctors’ union) had a hidden agenda that was not in the patients’ interest”.

It added that nurses at the accident department were as capable as their British and European counterparts, who were allowed to administer such drugs without prescription.