The disturbing report about the alleged heartless brutality inflicted on that 10-year-old boy at Mount Carmel Hospital’s youth residence, which I came across on your paper’s website last Sunday, deeply saddened me, to say the least. Melodramatic prose must always be avoided, especially when the facts have yet to be established; yet if both the internal and, especially, the police investigation corroborate every single word of what I read, then one cannot but wonder what sort of ordinary person can adopt such an aggressive manner, let alone a “nurse”. One would probably also wonder what kind of training, if any, such a person was given to work with “difficult” youngsters. Come to think of it, I’d be difficult – extremely difficult – if the lottery of life struck me down with a wasting disease just a few years after being born, having of course had no say in the matter.
I’m sure quite a few other readers were reminded of a male adult patient in the same hospital, who was floored by a “nurse” [or medical orderly – I forget the exact description] and physically and verbally assaulted ostensibly after complaining that the communal television was always switched on to a particular station and that the volume was too loud. An internal investigation was carried out to determine exactly what transpired but I don’t think its findings were ever made public – and neither what became of the employee after his transfer to another ward. Before I forget, enclosing the word nurse in quotes is meant to differentiate these employees from the majority of professional nurses who are good people with a vocation.
On Friday 3rd September, 1999 I had visited a friend of mine at the Attard hospital, one of many such visits. But on that particular day, there he was – a pathetic figure lying on his back in a semi-conscious state, with a swarm of flies hovering over and vexing him continuously. His room and bedside table, which had several discarded teabags and stood out like sore thumbs, looked as if they had not been cleaned for ages. When I remonstrated with the “nurse” regarding the flies, asking him if he could at least get some insecticide to deal with the pests, his abrupt reply was “we haven’t any”. He then turned nasty and became quite hostile when I pointed out that if it were his own father lying there instead, things would be different. I wrote a letter to your paper which appeared nine days later [and which I’ve kept]. Lo and behold, my friend’s room was spick and span on my next visit.
Yes indeed! Thank God for the truly independent news media and their staff, without which and without whom many of mankind’s nefarious deeds will never be exposed. When they are, hope that some form of justice will prevail, and instilled. And empathy, solidarity and succour for the victim, young and old, often follow.
Martin Bugeja
Balzan