The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has warned that the situation at Mater Dei Hospital is “desperate.”
“Contrary to what has been stated by the Health Minister, MDH is in severe crisis with Covid patients being spread in all wards,” the union said.
In a statement on Monday, the MUMN said that it had “received more than 20 calls from MDH from nursing staff in these last few hours due to the shortage of nurses and the huge influx of Covid cases in MDH.”
The union warned that “MDH has more than 150 Covid patients spread in all wards posing a high risk of cross infection among the whole hospital.”
It said that the nursing shortage is “compounded by the huge amount of nurses sent on quarantine resulting that several wards are left with just two or three nurses instead of six nurses.”
Three wards in MDH had to be dedicated fully for Covid patients and MUMN said that it had to issue directives during the week end so that more nurses had to be added due to the “severe burnout of the nurses.”
It also warned that nurses are refusing to work overtime even when repeatedly requested by hospital management.
“The situation is desperate and the MFH is refusing to reduce the elective surgery as to compensate for the huge influx of Covid cases and the high shortage of nurses on the wards.,” stated the MUMN.
it stressed that “the huge number of Covid cases in all wards has reached to an extent where every ward in MDH is having Covid cases.”
“Politics should not be the agenda of any Health Minister and if the MFH refuses to reduce elective surgery, the risks of transmission of Covid increases both to the staff and to the patients. MDH has 6 designated areas which are not meant to be wards but are being used as wards,” stated the union.
The MUMN went on to say that `such areas including MDH corridors, MDH library and the staff canteen. All areas make it harder for the nurses to work with patients since these are not set up as a ward should be.”
“Seeing the desperate situation in MDH,” the MUMN is urging the MFH to “reduce elective surgery and to start acting responsibly since MDH cannot keep functioning with such a high influx of Covid cases.”