Industrial action at Mater Dei Hospital’s pharmacy was lifted after one hour yesterday morning once hospital management agreed to employ more people to ease the workload.

Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin stepped up industrial action at the pharmacy yesterday, ordering its members to close the doors to the waiting room at 10.30 a.m. instead of 1 p.m.

An hour later, union health section secretary Joe Bonello informed the pharmacists the action was over because he was promised three more people would start working today.

Even though the action lasted just an hour, people who arrived there throughout that period were affected and those who turned up with a prescription in hand had to turn back, angry and frustrated.

Mr Bonello met with the hospital authorities and said he was promised that new staff would be employed.

“I spoke to the employees and told them what happened. I’m happy with the outcome but it is unfortunate the government only fulfilled its promise after the directives were issued,” he said.

The Health Ministry said it was satisfied that the union’s directives were lifted.

“This means that the hospital pharmacy will start opening as per its usual hours instead of the reduced hours as was the case over the past few days,” it said.

The ministry praised the way the union acted correctly in this situation so that patients and their families would not suffer.

The union had long been asking the hospital authorities to recruit more pharmacists. Even though six people were recently employed, four experienced pharmacists were transferred without the union being informed and without giving proper training to the new recruits.

The union on Monday ordered its members who acted as relieving pharmacists to stop helping out with the pharmacy’s 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.

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.