The first group of students to read for a nursing degree at Mcast in a course run in collaboration with Northumbria University and Vitals Global Healthcare are still without mentors.

The three-year course kicked off in October. Vitals, the company given a multimillion-euro contract to run three State hospitals, has invested €2 million in funding for the course.

Yet despite 33 students having enrolled, the college is still in the process of selecting nurses to assess their progress as they carry out practical training at hospitals.

Medical sources pointed out that mentoring is a crucial part of the nursing course, giving students hands-on experience. The call for mentors has therefore raised eyebrows among other nurses, as it seems Mcast does not have a fully fledged programme in place yet.

An expression of interest for registered nurses qualified to mentor the students was sent out at the end of last month, and two workshops for those interested in the job were held last week.

According to an EU directive for registered nurses, students must complete a minimum of 2,300 clinical training hours. A Northumbria University spokeswoman said that the Mcast students “will go out on their first placement in December and the required mentor arrangements will be fully in place”.

The course was originally planned for a new nursing school to have been set up by VGH at St Luke’s Hospital. But the students have had to use clinical nursing skills facilities at the Mcast Institute of Applied Sciences, as the VGH facilities are not yet available.

“The validated programme is approved by the Malta Council for Nurses and Midwives and is fully compliant with both the theory and practice hours requirement of the EU Directive for Registered General Nursing. Placements will be in a range of relevant clinical settings, including Mater Dei Hospital,” the Northumbria University spokeswoman said.

However, medical sources said this had taken Mater Dei staff by surprise, as they were unaware students from courses other than those run by the University of Malta would be receiving training on the wards.

An Mcast spokesman said: “The logistics of nurse mentoring is a final stage of this comprehensive programme.”

He said the course did have a mentorship programme, in full agreement with the Nursing Directorate, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and with the support of the nurses’ union.

The degree programme in nursing was announced earlier this year, with the contract between Mcast and VGH in collaboration with Northumbria University signed in January.

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