Contacted by The Malta Independent, MUMN secretary general Colin Galea gave assurances that there will be adequate staff levels during the strike. “It will be held between 9.30am and 11.30am. But we will still have two senior nurses on every ward during the strike,” he said.

Mr Galea said that the agreement stipulated that six nurses should be on duty, but sometimes only four are available. “And, in addition, we used to have 28-30 patients in each ward, but in August we have seen 38-40 patients. What will happen in winter when there are even more patients?” he asked.

Mr Galea said that the issue was not only about nurses, but also patients. “Nurses are very dedicated and will go above and beyond the call of duty, but a nurse is not a robot. If they approach exhaustion or simply cannot cope with the amount of work that needs to be done, it is the patient who ultimately suffers,” he said.

He continued: “We just plain and simply do not have the resources to cope with demand. We have no air-conditioning either. The conditions are simply atrocious for patients and nurses alike.”.

Mr Galea also attacked government’s decision to delay the employment of 65 new nurses. “We have an acute shortage, and government simply has no initiative whatsoever. There are so many things that can be done, but the situation always remains stagnant,” he said.

Mr Galea suggested that government could easily embark on a public private partnership to at least have elderly patients housed in three-star hotels. “If all they need is a bed, food and somewhere to stay, I cannot think of anything better. It will also free up beds that could be used by other people who lie in the corridors,” he said.

“Let us not forget it costs Lm80 per day for a person to stay at St Luke’s. It would be cheaper for government and it would provide some business to hotels if a system like this could be implemented,” he said.

Mr Galea said that if the government did not keep to the agreement, the MUMN would order nurses to carry out only the most important jobs such as bed registration, distribution of food, administration of treatment and charting of patients.

“We will not tolerate this situation any longer. Government signed an agreement with us and the long and short of it is that government should abide by it.”

The demonstration will be held at 9.30am this morning near the hospital gates.