The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) welcomes the Health Ministry's decision regarding the outsourcing of emergency service, saying that this is one of the best options to reduce waiting time at Mater Dei Hospital's (MDH) emergency department.

"The benefit of this system is not just the reduction in waiting time but also, through the system being proposed by the Health Ministry will allow the patient to speak to a consultant who will guide the patient according to the patient's condition. From the initial stages, a consultant will be executing a triage system that will guide the patient whether to attend MDH or any private hospital, thus rendering the system a risk free one."

"This will save the patient's valuable time by eliminating the possibility of waiting several hours to be seen by a consultant in the emergency department at MDH, only to find that the patient's condition does not require an admission. As falsely reported by certain media, it is not the patient who will be deciding whether to attend to MDH or a private hospital but a Consultant Specialist who will be deciding for the patient from the very first initial stages."

The situation in the emergency department needs urgent changes since nurses and doctors working there are overburdened with the huge number of patients attending this department. However, the patients are the ones suffering the most with waiting time of approximately 6 hours in the waiting room, with a further 6 hours in the emergency department as processing time."

"The status quo is not an option and MUMN welcomes the Health Ministry to start addressing the issues which are hurting the people living on the Maltese islands." MUMN said that it condemns any action to hinder the success of such proposals "due to ego or personal agendas neglecting completely the needs of the patients attending the emergency department of MDH."

The MUMN said that it is more than willing to collaborate with the Health Minister so that such proposals will be a success for the welfare and the well-being of the patients attending the MDH Emergency Department.