MUMN issued directives without any notice as per the civil service agreement and registered a dispute with the Mater Dei Hospital management following the government’s plans to use a tent as a reception area for day care patients if the need arises.

A copy of the directive sent to nurses in endoscopy and to the nurses on the surgical side of the Day Care Unit by the MUMN, and which was obtained by this portal, reads: 'With immediate effect, nurses working on the surgical side in the day care unit are only to nurse surgical patients and not to nurse any medical patients. Also nurses in the day care unit are not to do any work related in the tent. Nurses are being instructed not to go to the tent for any duties.'

Earlier

In a statement, MUMN said several media phoned MUMN officials regarding the tents being set up in MDH next to day surgery unit. “MUMN was not aware of such tents and neither were the nurses working at the day surgery unit. In fact MUMN officials had to abandon a function organised by the Labour party to attend urgently to the angry calls from the nurses working at the day surgery unit,” the union said.

People will now be told to wait in tents while the reception area, which is not an area to nurse patients, will now start to accommodate more patients on stretchers. So besides the corridors with patients on stretchers, the reception areas in Mater Dei Hospital will also be having patients on stretchers, the MUMN said.

Next decision might be the roof or the car park, the MUMN added, tongue in cheek. The long standing problems in MDH are just being shifted in corridors and reception areas and not at all properly addressed. It is a pity since this is causing more patient suffering and with the patients are the nurses.

All the “nice” talking by various management and politicians on the media that all stake holders are to be involved in the decision making process, is purely fake. Nurses at the day surgery were angry at the way they are being treated by the management, disappointed and de-motivated. Nurses are being treated in shameful manner with all hospital policies being broken due to bed shortages, the MUMN said.

See report below:

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-01-10/news/mater-dei-day-care-reception-moving-outdoors-we-are-being-proactive-ministry-3649077248/