The opening date of the new Medical Admissions Unit at St Luke’s Hospital has been postponed after the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) issued directives ordering doctors not to admit patients to the ward.

Given the hospital’s shortage of manpower, the MAM said “it is not possible to guarantee patient safety in all medical wards, should the Medical Admissions Unit start operations at present with the current staff complement.”

The union added that it had not been consulted on the changes in conditions of work that would result from the opening of the new ward, originally scheduled for yesterday.

The MAM said that the opening date of the ward “was not communicated to doctors, to the extent that most learned about it from third parties”.

However, in a press conference yesterday, the hospital administration countered that the MAM has no right to interfere with management decisions, and that patient safety would not be at risk as a result of the new admissions unit.

Department of Medicine chairman Alfred Caruana Galizia said that the new ward is intended to diagnose and treat patients within 72 hours. Once diagnosed, patients may be discharged or admitted to another ward. The ward will have 14 beds, which will eventually be increased to 21.

He said that the new ward will take cases of system failure that are not as drastic as those treated in the Intensive Therapy Unit, High Dependency Unit or Coronary Care Unit. The unit will thus contribute to reducing the number of beds in ward corridors, alleviating the overcrowding situation that normally arises because of delays in diagnosing patients.

Dr Caruana Galizia said he does not understand why the MAM is opposing the opening of the ward, given that no additional patients are being admitted and that current procedures will continue to be practised in the new admissions unit. He added that the opening of new wards had never involved discussions with the MAM.

Hospital superintendent Frank Bartolo said that the ward has been months in the pipeline and had not opened earlier due to a lack of trained staff. He said that the opening was announced in an internal circular issued last Tuesday. He also said that the unit’s operational policy had been circulated months ago, and that relevant feedback had also been taken into consideration. Those who did not reply were considered to not have any opinions on the matter.

Admissions consultant Robert Camilleri said that the new unit will be operating on systems and machines designed for Mater Dei Hospital, resulting in an expense in excess of the estimated Lm35,000 this kind of ward would usually cost. However, the precise cost of the new ward was not disclosed during the press conference.

Dr Camilleri added that, apart from improving the service offered, staff will also be trained by the time the move to the new hospital takes place.