The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has this morning called a press conference complaining that in order to reduce the costs for running St Vincenz de Paul, the management is employing carers instead of professional nurses.

Addressing the press summoned in front of the building in Luqa, Colin Galea the Secretary General of MUMN, said that the home for the elderly needs to double the number of nurses. The residence currently employs some 260 nurses and they entrusted to take care of more than 1200 patients.

"The situation is horrible. There are currently two nurses assigned with 40 patients when in reality, the number of nurses needs to be four."

As he explained, the management and MUMN commissioned a study on the residence which found out that the number of nurses needs to be drastically increased. However, Mr Galea said that this study was left shut down in the drawer and never implemented.

"Having carers taking care of patients in not on. They are not qualified and it is the residents who suffer because they are not being given the best treatment."

MUMN explained that these carers often have language barrier and cultural problems which hinder their work. It was also remarked that the carers qualifications are also questionable.

The Union also mentioned the fact that the residence is in such a dire need for new nurses, that those employed are even being denied their basic vacation leave.

"Carers cannot replace nurses. A lot of times, the only thing these carers are assigned to do is change nappies."

Following these complaints, the MUMN is now asking for an urgent meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly Justyne Caruana. Asked if they would be willing to give the Parliamentary Secretary an ultimatum, MUMN said they expect a reply by end of this week.

Government statement

In reply, the government said that its effective governance policies ensured that the quality of service offered at the home remains up to scratch.

In the last three years, 119 nurses were eployed at the residence, and the administration is aiming to increase the number.

The number of hours worked by care assistance was raised by 650 hours daily in September, and this was done to enable nurses to concentrate on their work. All carers are qualified for the job, the government said.

The hospital denied allegations that vacation leave and study leave were not being granted, with statistics showing that 98% per cent and 100 per cent of requests were accepted respectively.