All ambulances hired by Mater Dei Hospital through private contractors complied with European standards for ambulances, the hospital said this evening.

It was replying to a statement issued by this morning by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) in which it directed nurses not to use hired ambulances because of health and safety concerns. The department also said that the directive was in breach of the law.

In its statement, the union recalled how it had previously voiced concerns about the quality of ambulances. It had also complained that ambulances hired by the hospital authorities were being driven by untrained and inexperienced drivers and the vehicles were not well maintained.

The MUMN said that during the response to the Gudja incident yesterday, a hired ambulance crashed in a central strip and the wheel and the tyre were heavily damaged in the process. The inexperienced driver kept driving on the rim all the way to hospital. Yet the contractor wanted to return the ambulance to service after a change of tyre without checking the vehicle for road worthiness.

Another ambulance arrived on the scene of the same incident one hour and 30 minutes after it was called. This was because a fault developed en route and the ambulance had to be replaced by another one from the ambulance garage.

"Such incidents show that the Health Minister's press releases regarding the ambulance fleet are a smokescreen for the current state of affairs," the union said.

It said that inexperienced drivers hired by the ambulance contractor were recruited following an advert on Facebook and no experience or qualifications were requested.

"Finding drivers from Facebook to be put behind the wheel of a fast moving vehicle such as an ambulance is not a laughing matter but proof of the lack of importance to health and safety within the service," the union said.

The union said that it continued to insist that nurses, including midwive,s who provided a service on ambulances should to be insured to safeguard the safety of paramedical staff and patients and directed nurses at Mater Dei and Mosta health centre to refuse to use hired ambulances/drivers from any private contractor with immediate effect.

It also requested a meeting with the Ministry of Health.

The hospital said in the evening that drivers for contracted ambulances were interviewed and accepted only after they fulfilled the criteria set by the Emergency and Admitting Department senior physicians and nurses. 

With reference to the reported late arrival of an ambulance at the scene of an accident yesterday, it said that an inquiry was underway and action would be taken accordingly.

The hospital said that the MUMN directive was in breach of the law and the union would have to face consequences affecting patient safety or putting the life of patients in serious jeopardy emanating from such a directive. 

“The present directive from MUMN has no justification and it puts the safety of patients at risk. Even more so in the light of the fact that both the published tender specifications and contractual award were carried out with the involvement and direct participation of the A&E nurses, among others,” the department said.

UHM directive

In a statement this evening, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin said it directed ambulance porters not to assist drivers who did not have the necessary training given by the Health Department.

It said that drivers had been complaining of problems with ambulances because they these were now very old for a long time and although these were being repaired, the repairs were not enough.

The UHM said it insisted with the ministry that the ambulances should be changed and the union was informed the ambulances were to be replaced within six months, half of them by the end of the year.

The union said it was in the meantime insisting with the government that adequate ambulances should be rented but it could not accept that ambulance work was done by third parties.

The union also said it has been insisting on the recruitment of another 10 ambulance drivers for the past y10 years to replace ones which had retired.