If a trade union was going to join to be militant and forget the patients, it had better not form part of the task force set up to deal with the hospital bed shortage, the general secretary of the Malta Medical Association cautioned yesterday.
The task force, said Dr Martin Balzan, should focus on patients’ interests and not “militant trade unionism”.
He did not mention the union by name but it was clear he was referring to the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, which boycotted a meeting held between other unions and the health authorities on Monday and has not yet agreed to join the task force.
The decision to set up the task force was taken during the meeting, attended by representatives of the Health Ministry, the Health Department, MAM, the General Workers’ Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin.
The MUMN stayed away in protest at the way the government is handling the bed shortage situation at Mater Dei Hospital. It was invited to be part of the task force, the ministry and other unions said in a joint statement afterwards.
When contacted yesterday, MUMN president Paul Pace said that before deciding whether to join the task force he wanted to know its aims, objectives and terms of reference. Once he received this information he would take it to the executive council to decide.
“Here we are dealing with patients and their hardships and this can’t be taken lightly,” he said.
The state hospital has been plagued by bed shortages ever since it opened its doors four years ago. This has led to situations where patients had to be treated in corridors.
The situation gets worse in the cold winter months when the flu and infections are common. The government tried to tackle this by increasing the number of patients in medical and surgical wards. The doctors’ union agreed but the MUMN objected and threatened industrial action.
In the end, the government agreed to add one bed in each ward, as opposed to two or three, but doctors objected noting that this meant sick people would remain in corridors.
Dr Balzan welcomed the setting up of the task force and said his criticism was on the fact that the task force lacked patient representation.
GWU section secretary Josef Bugeja said “It is a little bit late. But it’s good... The problem is not only space but also human resources and the current work practices.”
UĦM president Jesmond Bonello said the solution lay in looking at the way the hospital worked in a holistic manner. For example, while it was good that the number of operations increased, this meant more beds were needed.
Asked why the task force was set up now, even though Mater Dei had been facing bed shortages for several years, a Health Ministry said: “There have been several initiatives along the years to deal with the reality of an increasingly ageing population, across various fronts.
“The time has come to put all unions around the same table on one common task force to consolidate efforts to reach one common aim.”