Nurses' union lifts directive after Steward Malta agrees to cover legal costs

Directives at Steward Health Care Hospitals have been lifted after management reached an agreement with the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN).

In a statement on Thursday, MUMN said it has reached an agreement regarding the liability incurred on the nursing profession in respect of supervision ordered by Allied Health Professionals.

“Steward has agreed to cover all legal expenses for nurses (both criminal and civil) who are involved in litigation due to incidents occurring during supervision recommended by the Allied Health Care professionals and physicians, whether the nurse is found guilty or not.”

The union said that Steward will also be offering the services of its legal team and is ready to pay all expenses including court fines for all nurses whether found guilty or not. “Incidents which are a result of misconduct or gross negligence on the part of the nurse will not be covered by Steward Health Care.”

Earlier, in a statement, Steward Health Care said that the agreement showed that the company was committed to covering the legal expenses of nurses who are involved in ligation due to incidents occurring during supervision as recommended by Allied health professionals and physicians

Steward Malta President, Nadine Delicata said the agreement was a significant win for patients and health care front liners. “Our focus is always that of delivering the highest quality care possible and of safeguarding the interests of our patients and our workforce.”

“We feel that by providing legal cover for our staff, they will feel further empowered and protected when conducting duties within our hospitals and are happy that these directives can be lifted once and for all,” Delicata said.

Steward Malta said it looked forward to a continued engagement with unions as well as all other stakeholders which would see the full delivery of Steward’s obligations to the government and citizens of Malta as outlined in the concessions agreement including breaking ground on the new hospitals in Malta and Gozo this year and more importantly Steward’s unwavering commitment to the wider health care community.

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