Government seeks injunction to stop MUMN from ordering work stoppage at Mater Dei’s cardiac unit

Health authorities have filed a court application requesting an urgent injunction to block industrial action ordered by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses at Mater Dei Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterisation Suite.

Authorities warned the directives put patients' lives at immediate risk.

In the 13-page court application, the Permanent Secretary for Health, alongside senior health officials, argued that the union’s directive, issued on 2 December, prohibits nurses from replacing colleagues on leave and bars newly assigned nurses from working in the unit.

The government said this would cripple the Cardiac Catheterisation Suite’s (Cath Lab) ability to carry out urgent cardiac procedures.

Patients facing cancelled life-saving procedures

The application outlines 14 scheduled cardiac interventions, many of which include urgent angiographies, angioplasties, and procedures for patients with severe coronary artery blockages. Several cases described in the document involve risks of heart attacks, cardiac failure, and fatal arrhythmias if treatment is delayed.

One patient was awaiting an angiogram for a graft at risk of failing, while another faced the risk of ventricular tachycardia without immediate intervention. The document lists multiple patients whose conditions, such as unstable angina, Brugada syndrome and arrhythmias, require prompt procedures that cannot be postponed without significant danger.

Consultants warned even a short disruption in Cath Lab services would leave highly vulnerable patients without timely treatment, increasing the risk of serious complications or death.

According to the attached email from MUMN president Paul Pace, the union ordered nurses to refuse to replace absent colleagues and instructed all staff to avoid contact with newly appointed charge nurses, who are currently on probation.

The union insisted the directive was issued over longstanding issues in the Cath Lab and claimed the situation has been deteriorating for years.

It argued the government has failed to address internal complaints, staffing levels, and management disputes.

However, the government stated the directive amounts to an illegal industrial action within an essential service, stressing that cardiac interventions cannot be halted without causing “irreparable harm” to patients.

The state is asking the Civil Court (First Hall) to issue a prohibitory injunction ordering the MUMN to immediately suspend the directive while the case is heard, claiming the action breaches on unlawful industrial action in essential sectors.

If granted, the injunction would force the union to lift its orders until a final determination is made.

This legal clash marks the latest escalation in the tense relationship between the Health Ministry and the nurses’ union, particularly concerning specialist units such as the Cath Lab, where staffing shortages and heavy workloads have been recurring points of dispute.

The court will now decide whether to issue the emergency injunction in the coming days.