Patients queuing at Mater Dei Hospital’s pharmacy will have to wait longer for their medicine because relieving staff has stopped helping out to highlight the workload of pharmacists there.
As from Monday, relieving pharmacists, who work in other sections of the hospital, stopped chipping in at the pharmacy. This means some serving windows will remain unmanned, slowing down the service.
Pharmacists at the hospital will today also be stepping up industrial action if the management does not employ four pharmacy technicians at the pharmacy.
Unless the additional staff is employed, the waiting area of the pharmacy will be closed at 10.30 a.m. instead of 1 p.m. Last week, this closed at 11.30 a.m. as the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin demanded action.
“So far, we have not received any complaints but, as from this week, patients will start feeling the result of our actions. We did not want to get to this point but we have no choice,” the UĦM’s health sector representative, Joe Bonello, said.
Over the past three weeks, the hospital pharmacy’s waiting room was closed earlier than usual following directives by the union, which is claiming that pharmacy staff cannot cope with the workload.
The pharmacy usually stops allowing people into the waiting room – that accommodates about 45 people – at 1 p.m. so staff would have time to serve them and clock out at 2.30 p.m. However, due to the workload, the staff often ended up leaving at 4 p.m., Mr Bonello said.
The union had long been asking the health authorities to recruit more pharmacists. Although six staff members were recently employed, four experienced pharmacists were transferred without the union being informed and without giving proper training to the new recruits.
Three weeks ago, the union ordered pharmacists to start closing the waiting room doors at 12.30 p.m. Since the situation remained unchanged, last week, the doors were closed at 11.30 a.m.
The union met the hospital management last week to try and find a solution to the problem. Mr Bonello said the management agreed to employ six new pharmacy technicians and send four of them to the Mater Dei pharmacy. The union gave the management until Monday to keep its word. Once it heard nothing from the management, it had no choice but to take the necessary measures and step up industrial action, he said.