MICHAEL CARABOTT

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses wants to see a change in the law whereby nurses who form part of paramedic teams can give potentially life saving drugs enroute to Accident & Emergency.

Speaking to The Malta Independent in an interview carried on this edition, president Paul Pace said that nurses constantly want to improve the service they offer to patients and changing this law would be a good start.

He said that abroad, simple paramedic crews can administer pills, intravenous drugs and other forms of treatment while patients are being transported, or at the scene.

“Unfortunately, in Malta, there seems to be resistance to empowering nurses and this is one of the many such instances,” he said.

Mr Pace said nurses certainly have the training to administer such treatments that may, in cases, avert irreparable damage to patients’ health and even save lives.

“We are in a situation where nurses might see a child in real danger of losing their lives through some form of fit and they cannot administer drugs,” said Mr Pace.

He said the union had been battling the authorities to change the system, but the file that it submitted to the relevant department within the Health Division had been sat on someone’s desk for about six years.

Mr Pace said that this will be one of the issues that the MUMN will be bringing up in a meeting with Social Policy Minister John Dalli and other involved partners such as university administration in an attempt to solve the current nursing complement crisis.

See interview on pages 8 & 9