The nurses’ union is to ask the management of Mater Dei to review procedures following an assault on ambulance staff on Friday.

Speaking to the Times of Malta on Monday , Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) secretary general Colin Galea said that the union condemned all acts of violence, especially those on its members, noting that this was not the first time that nurses were assaulted while on duty.

Late Friday, a team from the hospital’s Accident and Emergency department were dispatched to Rabat to assist two youths and, while the medical team tended to the pair, a third man became aggressive, throwing stones at the ambulance and punching one of the nurses.

The nurses need all the help they can get

Mr Galea told the Times of Malta that the union had long been calling for stricter policies, protecting those on such calls, insisting that the MUMN would be requesting a meeting with the Mater Dei management to ask for procedures to be reviewed.

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“The nurses need all the help they can get, even if that means involving the police or the owners of establishments,” Mr Galea said.

He noted that similar incidents occurred every few months, with most assaults involving revellers at nightclubs, migrants and patients at Mount Carmel.

“There is clearly a pattern and so that is easier to tackle since we know what the issue is,” Mr Galea said.

He added that although nurses were trained to handle all kind of situations, they still suffered psychological trauma when coming face to face with such issues.

Taking Friday’s case as an example, Mr Grech said that apart from the nurse who was punched, the union had also been contacted by the victim’s colleagues, who were also traumatised and under shock.