Potential industrial action at Mater Dei Hospital has been stalled “in the interest of the patients”, the Emergency Nurses’ Union said yesterday as it insisted that the bed shortage had still not been solved.

“This is not a time for directives. We want to show the government we are ready to have a discussion,” ENU president John Zammit told The Times yesterday.

Last Tuesday, the union gave the Health Department a week to sort out the situation in the emergency department – where some 40 patients were on stretchers in corridors waiting for a bed in the ward – or face industrial action.

The Health Division blamed the problem on a “severe” influenza outbreak, saying 497 patients had been admitted to the state hospital in the first five days of this month, up by 47 patients over last year.

Late last week the division said the situation had improved, especially after some 38 people were transferred to state and private residences for the elderly.

However, Mr Zammit stressed that the improvement was only temporary, with the hospital again getting crowded and patients waiting in corridors.

At one point yesterday, he said, there were some 25 patients waiting in corridors for a bed.

“They cannot blame this on influenza,” he said, pointing out that of Sunday night’s 35 or so admissions, only about six cases were due to chest infections, the symptoms associated with influenza.

The real issue was bed shortage, Mr Zammit said, inviting the division to discuss the way forward.

He acknowledged that the situation could not be improved overnight but insisted the division needed to accept there was a problem.

“Once a patient is left in a corridor on a stretcher, he’s lost his dignity,” Mr Zammit said.

Meanwhile, Labour health spokesman Michael Farrugia said the fact that the problem kept resurfacing meant there was something fundamentally wrong. Were it not for the dedication of the hospital staff, the whole situation would be much worse.

He pointed to what he said was an unacceptable mix of patients as they waited for beds, with those awaiting surgery being left next to others suffering from infectious diseases.

He criticised the government for having opened a hospital without building the planned added floor and for having allowed the shortage of nurses to grow to some 700 vacant positions.

More investment in community services, additional health centre services, and more residential homes for the elderly were needed.

Management by crisis, such as by transferring patients to other facilities, was not enough and the government needed to take concrete action to solve this problem, Dr Farrugia said.

“Now we’re not expecting excuses but concrete steps towards making sure the problem doesn’t repeat itself month after month.”

Questions sent to the ministry in connection with the situation remained unanswered by the time of going to print.