The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene on behalf of elderly patients at Gozo General Hospital who were being left in beds and not placed in armchairs because of staff shortage.

The union said that the hospital was 22 carers short.

It said that while the Elderly Division in Malta had engaged carers via direct order, this was not done in Gozo.

The MUMN said there were fully qualified Gozitans working in various residential homes and hospitals in Malta willing to work in Gozo but prohibited from doing so.

Moreover, the tender for the procurement of carers for Gozo General Hospital did not include a time frame for the winning bidder or the number of carers needed.

The union said it was ridiculed when it stressed that carers were urgently needed since the elderly residents were being put in risk on a daily basis.

In the evening, the government said the Department of Health was in the final stages of recruiting contractual care workers for Gozo General Hospital.

The contract for care workers, it said, had been adjudicated and contractor was currently shortlisting candidates who should be engaged in the coming days.

This, the government said, continued to show the government's commitment to invest in human resources ensuring the best possible care for elderly patients at Gozo General Hospital.