Updated

The Nurses Union (MUMN) today warned of strike action at St Vincent de Paul (SVP) due to inadequate staffing levels and management inaction.

Addressing a press conference, MUMN President Maria Cutajar presented a study showing that staffing levels at SVP were not even adequate to provide basic safe care.

Ms Cutajar said the report identified the need for 180 more nurses at the facility in order to reach basic care levels.

The MUMN President acknowledged that these staffing levels could not be solved overnight. She expressed her disappointed that management had not shown much interest in implementing the suggestions in the report.

Ms Cutajar said SVP had morphed from a home for the elderly to an acute care hospital, without the necessary adjustment in staffing levels. The situation was particularly dire on the night shift, with one nurse in charge of a ward with 40 patients, Ms Cutajar said.

The report recommended moving to smaller wards of around 28 patients, and the immediate introduction of two nurses on the night shift.

MUMN Secretary General Colin Galea said a number of nurses were being left idle or being made to carry out audits.

Mr Galea said the problems had been raised with parliamentary secretary Justyne Caruana, but the MUMN’s appeals had fallen on deaf ears.

In a reply, the Parliamentary Secretarit said that in the past two months the government invested substantially to increase staff for nurses to have more time to practice their profession with residents.

This step was taken following collaboration for research on work practices.

The secretariat said that the SVP administration regularly met the MUMN and did not feel there were disagreements although there were points which had needed to be worked upon.