The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has issued a directive which affects community and outreach services provided by the nurses in the mental health setting

The union spoke about the situation in the sector.

“Just a quick look at this year’s budgets, the so called projects for the mental health services being mentioned are the same projects that have been mentioned in the last four budgets. Not to mention that the Health Ministry is taking people for a ride by proposing, for the second consecutive year, the search for a hotel to be converted to an Acute Mental Hospital. None of the Mental Health experts endorsed such an idea.”

The MUMN said that it is not just the patients and the services which are being treated as “third division, but also the nurses.”

The union said that the nurses at Mt. Carmel Hospital (MCH) are the only nurses left without a new supply nursing uniform. “They have to use old and torn uniforms which have been used for the last four years since no new uniforms were provided. While nurses in MDH, Primary Health care and SVP were given a new set of uniforms in January 2021, the uniforms of MCH have never materialized.”

“Another discrimination faced by the nurses in MCH is the transportation system. This year MDH was supplied with a huge fleet of electric cars for their outreach and emergency services. The nurses in MCH who work in the outreach and community services and have a much broader service are constrained to use their own vehicles to conduct home visits. The procurement section were given instructions to provide vehicles only to MDH nurses, knowing well that the nurses in Mt. Carmel Community Services are providing a much larger community service.”

The MUMN said that it cannot allow this “continuous discrimination”.

“This shows that, not only is the service classified as third division but also the nurses who have to work with no new uniforms and no vehicles. MUMN is constrained to issue a directive with immediate effect, that all community and outreach services provided by the nurses in the mental health setting are to see nurses stop using their personal vehicles and stop all home visits. When the Health Ministry one day decides to supply the necessary uniforms for the nurses working in MCH and provides a fleet of vehicles similar to MDH, such home visits will resume.” The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has issued a directive which affects community and outreach services provided by the nurses in the mental health setting