The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has expressed its "utmost concern regarding the deplorable situation at Karin Grech Hospital (KGH)," where it said that both patients and staff are "being placed in unacceptable and dangerous conditions due to gross mismanagement and negligence."

The crisis at KGH extends far beyond infrastructure, the MUMN said.

In one of the wards, "patients are openly consuming alcohol, including beer, marijuana and whisky, on a regular basis. Nurses have filed multiple incident reports and repeatedly requested security intervention to curb this unacceptable behaviour." These reports were ignored by hospital management and no security (as requested several times by the nurses) was ever sent, allowing such misconduct to continue unchecked, the union said.

"As a result, certain patients have been permitted to dominate the ward environment, leading to verbal abuse, intimidation, humiliation, and emotional exhaustion among staff most especially the nurses. Several nurses have required psychological support due to the toxic and unsafe work environment."

"On a separate incident, it was only after the MUMN's industrial action - once again necessitated by KGH management's continued disregard for nurses and patients - that a patient caught smoking marijuana was finally transferred to Mt. Carmel Hospital."

The MUMN said that it is holding the CEO and the Chief Nursing Manager of KGH directly responsible "for this systemic collapse". "The administration's failure to act on multiple incident reports" it said, "is a clear reflection of gross managerial negligence."

Instead of addressing these serious concerns, management has allegedly chosen to "repress and threaten nurses" who sought support from their union, "attempting to conceal the gravity of these issues," the union said.

"Certain patients have accumulated over 15 separate incident reports, yet no protective action has been taken by KGH management to safeguard the nursing and healthcare staff."

"The continued inaction and suppression of reports have led to severe burnout and increased sick leave among the nursing workforce."

Beyond those issues, the union said that Karin Grech Hospital is in an alarming state of disrepair. "The facility is in urgent need of refurbishment, with sections of the plaster often accompanied by huge chucks of concrete falling from the roof, narrowly missing nursing staff. In ward R1 the relatives' toilets have been closed by architects after the roof was declared unsafe and in imminent danger of collapse."

Across the hospital, ceilings are deteriorating, with parts of plaster falling off - posing constant risk to patients, nurses, and visitors alike, the union said.

"Given the escalating situation, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has been compelled to declare an industrial dispute and to issue Health and Safety Directives to protect its members working at Karin Grech Hospital."

The MUMN said that the current state of neglect, managerial incompetence, and systematic failure at Karin Grech Hospital cannot and will not be tolerated.

"Immediate intervention is required to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of both patients and healthcare professionals."

The MUMN said that it finds it highly unacceptable that the Health Division is "clearly protecting both the CEO and the CNM at the detriment of the nurses, other staff and patients. MUMN expects that immediate action is taken in confront of these two officials so that the toxic ward environment in KGH is addressed."