MUMN warns of dangerously substandard staffing levels at Mater Dei

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has called on the health department to address the shortage of beds at Mater Dei Hospital which was having a detrimental effect on both patients and staff members. 

In a letter sent to the health ministry’s permanent secretary, MUMN president Maria Cutajar said that over the last few days Mater Dei Hospital “was and still is under so much pressure that the hospital was forced to open extra ‘contingency’ or ‘escalation’ wards. These situations result in a negative bearing on all our members striving in Mater Dei Hospital.”

Pointing out that as a result of a shortage of beds, patients are being cared for in corridors and the A&E Department is “jammed with too many patients.”

The union added that while the Day Care Unit is encountering a precarious situation, “we even have a dangerous situation where there are wards with only one nurse to take care of twenty four patients.”

“This practice is showing that our local National Health Services are under unprecedented strain.  Such a strain is being felt not only by the patients and their relatives, but also by nurses and other members of the healthcare team,” the MUMN president warned.

Cutajar added that the union is concerned because nurses and midwives, including those in managerial/leadership posts, “are facing unrelenting pressures and being put in an unacceptable situations.”

She underlined the fact that nurses and midwives working at Mater Dei Hospital are working day in day out with “dangerously substandard staffing levels” in most wards and a shortage of supporting staff in areas where patients are being cared for.

“These conditions are not favourable to ensure patient safety,” Cutajar said.

While acknowledging that ‘bed blocking’ is one of the causes, MUMN said there are patients that can be transferred to private elderly homes or private long-term facilities.

The MUMN called on the permanent secretary to intervene and find a solution to free up beds and places for patients who no longer need tertiary hospital care. The union also urged all stakeholders to properly fund both the National Health Services and social care to deal with the rapidly rising levels of demand as the population lives longer and with increasing numbers of older patients with complex multiple conditions.

“We would like to inform you that our members have a limit to how much they can endure in these situations. MUMN has the responsibility to safeguard the interests of its members and their families. If this situation persists any longer MUMN would not have other alternatives but to inform you with those measures that would be decided to address such situations,” the union president added.