Fathers of children born at Mater Dei Hospital are livid at directives issued by a union banning them from staying overnight at the hospital with their newborns.

The directives, which have been in force for more than a week, were issued by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses after the Mater Dei management “unilaterally” put a stop to a roster which had been in place for more than eight years. 

The directives exclude the possibility of the father staying overnight when their partners have just given birth. 

Hospital sources said that in normal circumstances a father could only stay the night if given special permission by the charge nurse, but the facility was given to almost all fathers who wanted to stay.  

Union president Paul Pace told Times of Malta that the directives were issued after the hospital management changed midwives’ working hours without consultation.

“There was a roster and the management all of a sudden decided it was time to stop it. I had members who ended up with a three-hour break rather than clocking off earlier. 

“The worst thing about it is that some midwives were allowed to continue being part of this roster while others were not and we wanted an explanation from the management. When we didn’t get it, we issued directives because this is unacceptable,” he said. 

Not allowing husbands to stay during the night is inhumane

He continued: “While MUMN is always available for any meetings, it cannot allow such injustices and such discrimination at the place of work to be the order of the day. It is clear for MUMN that midwives were not treated equally and fairly.”

But couples took to social media to complain about the hardship that such a directive had on them. 

“I gave birth at 12.35am. I was tired and unable to walk on my own. My husband was asked to leave. This impacted me very badly. Being in such a state and having to look after a new-born on my own. 

“While I understand the importance of directives, not allowing husbands to stay during the night is inhumane. I hope you all realise the psychological effect this is having on mothers,” the woman wrote. 

A spokeswoman for the Health Ministry confirmed that the directives were impacting husbands and partners staying the night while other relatives had the official visiting hours cut by an hour. 

“The directives are impacting relatives’ visiting hours. The ministry is engaged with the union to address the current impasse and the consequent inconvenience on hospital users,” she said without entering into the merits of the dispute.