95% of the Medical Association of Malta members have complied with the ordered industrial action as the association’s directives comes into force today.
“The only activity going on at Mater Dei, is that which has been exempted from the directives, namely accident and emergency, urgent appointments related to trauma, post op surgery, and obstetrics”, the MAM said.
The MAM said that it hopes that the government cancels mass events as soon as possible so that it can suspend directives and call patients for their appointments.
“In operating theatres only emergency and cancer related surgery is being carried out”, they said.
All doctors at health centres are seeing emergency patients and are following MAM directives, the association said.
Similarly doctors in Gozo both at Gozo general hospital and health centres are following MAM directives, however all emergency work is being dealt with, the MAM said.
The directives came into force on Thursday morning after no agreement on the outright cancellation of mass events was reached between the association and the government.
The directives will run until Wednesday 12 August and include the postponement of outpatients appointments, the closure of community clinics, and the postponement of all elective surgery.
The members Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses will also be launching their own industrial action, with directives coming into force on Friday.
Speaking with this newsroom, MUMN head Paul Pace said that their problems with the government are not solely related to mass events.
He highlighted that there are also financial issues and ones related to working conditions which were brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. As an example, he said that nurses and other medical professionals were being discriminated against, as vulnerable civil servants were still working from home while vulnerable healthcare professionals could not. In addition, healthcare professionals in quarantine as a result of the virus are not receiving Sunday pay, for example, he said.
He said that a meeting has been set up for the 12th of august with the government to come up with solutions. "We recognise what is going on is unfair for medical community, especially nurses who are being discriminated against within the civil service," he said.
He highlighted that as a sign of good faith, the MUMN held back from implementing all the directives it has in mind to give the government a chance to handle the mass event situation by banning them, and to solve some of the other issues medical professionals are facing.