[WATCH] New Mater Dei wards will include more beds than original plans

Fearne: Government will work with MUMN on lack of Gozo hospital carers

The two new wards that the government is planning to construct at Mater Dei Hospital will include more beds than the previous plans would have, Health parliamentary secretary Chris Fearne said.

“While the original plan was to build a ward that would create 68 beds for patients, we are now planning to build more storeys in the coming years,” Fearne said. “We have managed turn a problem into an opportunity.”

The construction plans for the new wards, which will be located next to the Accident and Emergency Department, have been submitted to MEPA for approval.

While the original plans were to build new wards above the A&E Department, stress tests revealed that this was not viable due to concrete of inferior quality used to construct the columns. An inquiry board chaired by former judge Philip Scibberas has been set up to investigate the situation. Fearne said that this board is working ‘daily’

MUMN industrial dispute

The government is looking to recruit more Gozitans as carers to address the carer shortage problem at the Gozo General Hospital, Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said.

“All the Gozitan carers who used to work in Malta now work in Gozo but Gozo is still facing a carer and nurse shortage” Fearne said, while denying the existence of a rift between the government and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN).

“The government is cooperating well with MUMN to increase the number of carers and nurses in Gozo,” Fearne said.

The MUMN declared an industrial dispute at the Gozo General Hospital on Tuesday, prompted by a shortage of at least 20 carers at the hospital.

“Such shortages were due to the fact that certain carers were transferred to security guards or other duties without any replacements,” the MUMN said. “For over a year, nurses at the Gozo hospital had to do all the additional work which should have been provided by such carers just to maintain a decent service to the elderly and due to the great respect nurses have for their patients.”

The MUMN accused the Health Department of not following up on their promises to tackle this issue. They added that it has become clear that the elderly patients at Gozo General Hospital “are not of a priority to the Gozo General Hospital”.    

They gave the government a deadline: if carers are not provided by 10 October, all the nurses in the Gozo hospital will stop carrying out care work and focus only on their nursing responsibilities.

If carers are not provided by 10 October, MUMN will give directives to all the nurses at the Gozo hospital to stop carrying out extra care work and focus only on their nursing responsibilities.

Fearne was speaking during a visit to the new production line of gluten free burger buns, pizza bases, bread rolls, and muffins at Golden Harvest. Over 350,000 The food will be available from major supermarkets tomorrow.

“There are around 1,200 people with coeliac disease in Malta who can’t eat foods that contain gluten,” Fearne said. “The government is in advanced discussions with stakeholders such as the Malta Celiac Association to update the current coeliac system.”

The current system, whereby coeliac patiens have to collect their free gluten-free food from the Birkirkara Health Centre has been criticised for its lack of flexibility.

“We are planning to launch the new scheme before the end of the year,” Fearne said.