Nurses have appealed to the government not to bring over patients from Libya who would eventually end up having no nurse or equipment for their care.

In a statement, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said both the hospital’s limitations and the shortage of human resources should be taken into consideration.

Bringing patients from Libya to Malta’s 20-bed Intensive Therapeutic Unit, which was always full, was not the right decision.

According to international standards, there should be one nurse per patient at ITU. This was hardly adhered to normally as it was closer to three patients per nurse. Placing extra beds in ITU for the wounded in Libya would continue to have an impact on the nursing ratio. Patients from Libya would also have a direct impact on surgery, hospital acquired infections and bed availability.

"Our Nurses in ITU, our nurses in casualty, our nurses in Mater Dei are highly dedicated to their patients but none of them are superman/woman," the MUMN said.