The decision to issue directives to doctors was taken collectively by the MAM council on the 9 January, and suggesting that this was due to MAM president Martin Balzan being denied a promotion is unserious, the association said Sunday.
It was replying to comments made by Health Minister Jo-Etienne Abela that MAM has decided to take industrial action as Balzan was not promoted.
In medicine industrial action is a last resort, MAM said Sunday. For historical reasons, doctors are particularly sensitive about this.
The decision was taken after months of being ignored, trying to solve problems through dialogue. When the Emergency Department was presented with an unworkable plan to send patients to private hospitals, MAM had no option but to issue directives. Had this plan been implemented, waiting times in the Emergency Department would have increased and patients would have taken even longer to be seen, MAM said.
Since the last cabinet reshuffle, doctors have found it much harder to work with the Government to solve problems in the health service, MAM said.
On health, the government has stopped listening. Meetings are not held and dialogue is forgone in favour of confrontation.
The recovery from the Vitals/Steward catastrophe is not going well. The wasted years and lack of investment are taking their toll. The flexibility and dynamism needed to address these issues while keeping stakeholders on board is missing, the association added.
Some Health Centres are crumbling, unsustainability has led to low morale and many GP resignations. Waiting times have quadrupled. More GPs are planning to leave. The Vincent Moran, Paola hub remains unopened even though it has been ready for months. Other serious issues like the Medical Council reform remain unaddressed.
The challenges in health are too big and too urgent to waste time squabbling. MAM urges a return to serious dialogue and meaningful stakeholder consultation.