The nurses’ union is calling for an urgent meeting with the Health Minister to discuss privatisation within the health sector, particularly that of the Cospicua and Kirkop health centres and the Gozo General Hospital.
The union said there was no agreement about this privatisation and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses did not have any information about where private entrepreneurs would be getting nurses from. It warned it would not allow any secondment of its members.
This meant that any privatised section would have to employ foreign nurses, rendering the service unsafe for patients.
“Safety standards cannot be guaranteed when only foreign nurses run any service due to language barriers. Any talk or decisions taken behind MUMN’s back on privatisation are literally useless and cannot materialise. No Maltese nurse will be seconded to the private sector in Malta and Gozo...
“In this scenario MUMN is requesting an urgent meeting with the Health Minister so as to clarify all issues about privatisation in the health system,” the union said in a statement.