MUMN lambasts government over illegal UĦM directives
MUMN argues that government allowed UĦM to issue the directives that disrupted emergency services at Mater Dei Hospital
26 February 2021, 4:20pm
by Matthew Agius / Laura Calleja
The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has lambasted government for allowing UĦM to issue directives disrupting emergency services in Mater Dei Hospital, to the detriment of nurses working at the department.
In an open letter, sent two days ago, MUMN accused the ministry of double-standards in their treatment towards unions in the medical sphere. UĦM has issued directives to EARs, costing the tax payer €5,000 a day for more than eight months through the outsourcing of ambulance services, while your office sat pretty and did nothing, the union stated.
Updated 5.30pm with UĦM response
Mater Dei Hospital plans to replace its entire fleet of ambulances amid complaints from drivers that they are in poor repair and that privately-hired vehicles either go unused or lack vital equipment.
A group of anonymous first responders contacted
Times of Malta to complain about their working conditions and a lack of investment in new vehicles.
“We cannot drive a patient to hospital without knowing if the ambulance will even manage to get there,” one of the workers said.
According to the workers, three ‘roaming cars’ were leased from Burmarrad Commercials, only to be left unused for the past seven months.