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.

Drivers say they are also facing equipment shortages, claiming that ambulances rented from Emergency Malta often lack a full equipment rack, with the drivers themselves scrambling to find missing parts from government-owned ambulances.

“This leads to inventory being spread out too thinly all over the place, something which is obviously not ideal when we need to go out on a call as quickly as possible,” another first responder said.

“We were told that old vehicles would be removed and that new ones would be leased.

“But, why are we the only government branch that is leasing vehicles?”

The workers were also concerned about spending their break time in unsafe and unsanitary containers.

Pictures sent to Times of Malta show a dead rat in one of the containers, with light fittings hanging loosely and rubbish dumped outside.

“These containers have been weathered by the elements for the past seven years, and we’ve been promised new ones for the last three years at least,” the sources claimed.

“We are desperate to have better working conditions. This is not an issue we want to politicise, it’s something we want to be fixed.”

Plans to change ambulance fleet

In response to the complaints, Mater Dei Hospital chief operating officer Steve Agius plan are under way to replace “all ambulances”.

“The contract for a new fleet has been awarded and awaiting delivery,” he said.

“Notwithstanding this, the fleet undergoes servicing and repairs on a regular basis, and we can confirm that safety standards are maintained at all times.”

Mater Dei blames industrial dispute

Agius blamed the need for hiring private ambulances on an industrial dispute with union UĦM - Voice of the Workers.

“Due to the industrial actions, we are currently renting ambulances to cover the 112 calls which workers were directed to not attend to,” he said.

“The contractor was selected following an open call, and we can confirm all the specifications of the tender are being fulfilled.”

Agius also said the container units were a “temporary solution” because of ongoing infrastructural works close to the previous quarters.

“Unfortunately, the hospital’s original intentions for the Emergency Ambulance Responders to return to their original location were turned down by the workers’ union,” he noted.

“However, works on the replacement of the current portable accommodation shall commence this week.”

Workers also collectively expressed their frustration at other grievances, including the lack of a collective agreement that secures their employment with better pay scales, adequate amounts of staff members per shift and training courses.

Agius defended the hospital administration’s handling of their personnel.

“Training is an ongoing process for all 112 emergency personnel,” he said.

“Mater Dei has dealt with the staffing challenges during the COVID-19 surge by increasing the number of emergency staff across the department.”

When contacted, a spokesperson for Emergency Malta, which provides private ambulances, categorically denied the claims made about lack of equipment.

Union blames government

UĦM - Voice of the Workers disagreed with Agius' assessment and said the government wanted to shift blame for the situation onto it. 

The union said that the government was refusing to negotiate a new collective agreement for Emergency Ambulance Responders, all while spending "thousands" to hire private ambulances. 

It said that it had spent two years calling for a new deal for ambulance responders, and had only started industrial action after those calls were ignored. 

"The treatment being reserved to these workers indicates that this category is low on government’s priorities," the union said in a statement, citing the "disgusting" condition of an area given to workers for rest periods.

An alternative location offered was also inadequate and posed risks to workers' health, the union said, with action to provide proper facilities only provided after it spent months lobbying.