The MUMN has issued directives to its members, which will be effective from this Friday.

In a statement the union said that its Council had just terminated a meeting with Minister Fearne regarding mass events and other nursing/midwifery/physiotherapists and Healthcare professionals’ issues.

MUMN said that it “witnessed a Health Minister who although is not prepared to cancel mass events, seems committed to make sure that mass events which do not abide by the Legal notice issued today a legal notice published today will be closed permanently and fined.” The Legal notice includes a €3,000 fine if organisers fail to abide by the regulations.

It pointed out that “having said that, till now the Government has never committed seriously to proper enforcement of the legal notices issued recently on mass events due the Covid pandemic.”

It said that parties and mass events have been allowed to take place with no social distancing and all guidelines being completely ignored and no legal action taken.

“In other words, the Government still must prove itself due to its failure of enforce regulation issued by Public Health were mass events are concerned,” the union said.

“This is more than evident since such lack of enforcement is resulting in numerous cases of covid cases per day,” it added.

The MUMN also said that it “has information that if Malta keeps registering high new cases of Covid for the next 7 days in a row, such new cases will now be the Second Wave and Malta and Gozo is risking another partial lock down as the one in previous March.”

MUMN stated that it is convinced that if “proper enforcement is to take place on mass events (such as all parties) were social distancing cannot be maintained, such mass events should be banned completely.”

Nurses, Midwives, ECG Technicians, Physiotherapists, Social Workers and other Health Care Workers who are all providing sterling service in such time of crisis, were ignored and “discriminated” when compared to the rest of the civil service, the union said.

It added that , “in today’s meeting, Minister Fearne acknowledged such “discrimination” due to the sensitive nature brought about by the covid pandemic and a further meeting is scheduled for next week on such issues since an agreement still needs to be reached.”

It argued that “since the Government has still to prove itself on mass events, not to mention that the Health Ministry still has to come up with solutions to address the short comings to the frontliners, MUMN is not in a position to suspend further the directives.”

MUMN has appealed to the General Public that it “would like to be informed where mass events are taking place and social distancing is not being adhered to.”

The directives are as follows:

As from Friday 7th August,, all Nurses, Midwives working in SVP, MDH, GGH, KGH, Elderly Homes & MCH are:-

Not to wash any patients;

Not to ambulate patients to an armchair from a bed and vice versa;

Not to accompany patients to X-rays, theatres, out-patients etc;

The only forms to be filled by the nurses & midwives are the nursing report, treatment charts, output/input charting, blood glucose monitoring, TPR and Sp02 monitoring; No other forms are to be filled up.

For the Physiotherapist working in SLH, Comm Care/Homes, GGH, SVP, CDAU, MCH, PHC, MDH and KGH:-

GGH wards:

no new patients to be seen;

GGH Outpatients:

no more than 3 face to face patients daily to be seen by each physio.

MDH

Inpatients : Orthopaedic wards : No electives surgery patients to be seen.

All other Wards: Only chest patients to be seen.

MDH outpatients: only 3 patients daily to be seen face to face by each physio.

KGH inpatients:

NO new patients to be seen and that includes patients transferred between wards;

No home visits.

KGH outpatients:

No more than 3 patients daily to be seen face to face by each physio.

CDAU

No more than 3 patients daily to be seen face to face by each physio.

SVPR

Wards: Only chest patients to be seen;

No ward rounds;

No home visits.

Outpatients : not more than 3 face to face patients daily to be seen by each physio.

MCH:

Wards:

Only chest patients to be seen;

No wards rounds;

No home visits;

No classes.

Outpatients:

Not more than 3 face to face patients daily to be seen by each physio.

Primary Care:

No more than 3 face to face patients daily to be seen by each physio.

Commcare and Homes

No more than 3 face to face patients daily to be seen by each physio.

To all ECG Technician working in all hospitals excluding SAMOC: –

Not to take ECGs which are sent and ordered through the outpatients departments;

Not to take any ECGs requested as a review between 5.00 a.m. and 7.00 a.m.

Vulnerable HealthCare Professionals (members of MUMN)

The union said that as From Friday the 7th August, all Healthcare Workers, who were considered vulnerable by Public Health in previous March/April or are currently pregnant, are to request to their respective Hospital Management to work in non-clinical areas, with no patient contact if they consider their current work place as a high risk work place.

It said that “if the Hospital Administration does not provide a non-clinical placement, they are to stay at home doing teleworking like the rest of the Civil Service.”

SAMOC, E/A, ITU, Renal Unit, Theatres, Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Delivery Suite, Primary Health Care (blood letting) are all being exempted till now from these directives.

Photograph by Anthony Zammit

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