Court blocks nurses’ industrial action at Mater Dei Cath Lab over patient safety concerns

The Civil Court has upheld a mandate of injunction preventing the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) from pursuing industrial action that could disrupt essential cardiac services at Mater Dei Hospital.

In a decision delivered on Wednesday, the court ruled directives issued by the union, which ordered nurses at the Cath Lab not to participate in elective procedures, posed a serious and immediate risk to patient safety.

The case was instituted by the Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Health, the Director General for Health Services, the Chief Medical Officer and the CEO of Mater Dei Hospital, who argued that the union’s directive, issued on 2 December 2025, would result in the suspension of critical cardiac interventions.

The court heard that several patients were already scheduled for procedures, and that any disruption could have severe or even fatal consequences.

Although MUMN later informed the court that the directive had been withdrawn following the resolution of an internal dispute relating to vacation leave practices, the applicants insisted that the mandate was still necessary to prevent future action of a similar nature. The court agreed, noting industrial action affecting essential health services cannot be justified where it directly endangers patients’ lives.

In a detailed analysis, the court reiterated while trade unions enjoy a fundamental right to take industrial action, that right is not absolute.

The court stressed services such as cardiac care fall squarely within the category of “essential services” under Maltese law, and that any action which places public health at risk is both disproportionate and unlawful.

The court confirmed the requisites for the issuance of a mandate of injunction had been satisfied, particularly the existence of a prima facie right and the risk of irreparable harm. It consequently upheld the provisional injunction, restraining the union from issuing or enforcing directives that could prejudice essential medical services at the Cath Lab.

Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.

Judge Miriam Hayman presided over the sitting.