Minister for Active Ageing Jo Etienne Abela and the President of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses Paul Pace expressed different views over the inquiry that was conducted following the disappearance of a patient, Carmelo Fino, from the St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly.

Fino, a resident with dementia, went missing from the residence on 28 June. An internal inquiry had found that his disappearance was the result of shortcomings in the standard of care provided by employees, rather than a failure of the system. The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has taken issue with the report.

Both Abela and Pace were both interviewed by the Malta Independent on Sunday.

Minister for Active Ageing Jo Etienne Abela has said that the circumstances which led to Carmelo Fino’s disappearance had nothing to do with the fact that the nurse on duty lacked experience, and the minister refused to entertain the idea that the nurse was being used as a scapegoat.

See minister’s interview here

For his part, Paul Pace, the president of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurse (MUMN), said that the newly-appointed Minister for Active Ageing, Jo Etienne Abela, used nurse Rhys Xuereb as a scapegoat because the minister was only interested in “saving his political career”.

Pace said that the suspension of Xuereb displays the lack of appreciation that the ministry has for the work nurses perform.

See the MUMN president’s interview here