UPDATED 7.45 p.m.

The Health Department said this evening that people should call ambulances only when absolutely possible.

The appeal was made after the UHM announced industrial action by the ambulance drivers.

Reacting to the press conference by the UHM officials, the department said that it yesterday wrote to the union informing it on the progress made on the various points raised in a statement on March 4.

There had been conclusion of some of the grievances raised by the UHM and others were in an advanced stage of completion.

A union official had participated in the efforts to resolve some of the points which the union had raised, and the Department said it could therefore not understand why industrial action was called since the only outcome would be hardship for patients.

The department apologised to the public and called for its cooperation. It also hoped that common sense would prevail.

Earlier, the UHM ordered ambulance drivers not to go out for patients unless they were accompanied by a nurse and a doctor.

The union's health services section secretary, Joseph Bonello, said that the hospital management had an attitude problem with ambulance drivers. He said that ambulance drivers at Mater Dei were discriminated against when compared to those at St Luke's.

Mr Bonello said that although a four-hour meeting was held between the union and the government on March 13 to discuss the union's nine pending issues in the health sector, with specific deadlines being set for their resolution, most promises were not kept, including the setting up of a board of inquiry to investigate claims by ambulance drivers.

UHM general secretary Gejtu Vella said that the union had made an effort for the meeting to be held because it did not want to be negative and badly affect patients and their families, but the government was asleep when it came to health.

He hoped that now that industrial action was being taken, the government would finally make a move to tackle the issue.