Most wards at Mount Carmel Hospital are being run without nursing officers resulting in a situation of “ships without captains”, according to the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses.

The union said  it had sent an open letter to Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia, asking him to urgently address the situation that had been dragging on since the previous administration.

A copy of the letter, seen by Times of Malta, informed the minister that, since January, 28 nurses who worked at the psychiatric hospital had been transferred or retired.

The majority of these nurses were nursing officers – who are responsible for running wards – or their deputies.

“Nursing officers and even departmental nursing management were transferred to Mater Dei Hospital without even sending a replacement to guarantee a continuity of service in Mount Carmel Hospital…

“The lack of human resources in Mount Carmel Hospital in nursing and in nursing management has deteriorated to such an extent that the service is being affected,” the union said in the open letter.

The union later explained that, out of the 28 nurses mentioned in the letter, only six had retired and the rest were transferred.

It added that stigma was attached to Mount Carmel suffered and nurses preferred working elsewhere. As a result, political parties in the past had used transfers out of the hospital as a form of favour.

The union has requested an urgent meeting with the Health Minister to find a solution to the problem that left the majority of wards without management.

Questions sent to the Health Ministry yesterday afternoon remained unanswered by the time of going to print.