The persistent shortage of beds at Mater Dei Hospital has forced the management to turn temporary wards into permanent ones, with work to bring them in line with acceptable standards expected to start in the coming weeks.

The decision was made after the temporary solution worked for some months, including when hospitalisation increased due to the seasonal influenza. Instead of allowing patients to spill into the corridors, the hospital management tried a different solution: turning the medical library and the staff canteen into temporary wards.

However, the temporary arrangements made the conditions “inhumane”, according to hospital workers. Beds were so close to each other that there was no privacy and no dignity for patients. Shower and toilet facilities were non-existent, so the management supplied portable toilets and shower cubicles for patients.

Hospital workers describe them as “Florence Nightingale wards” with barely any space in between beds.

The hospital management supplied portable toilets and shower facilities.

Sources close to the hospital said there are six such areas in all, none having toilets or showers and making it very difficult to deliver the proper care and maintain the dignity of the patient. These ‘wards’ have been named Major Incident Unit and numbered from one to six.

A spokesperson for the health ministry confirmed when contacted that the new wards in the staff canteen and medical library will be undergoing work during quieter times so they would reach the standard of other wards in the hospital.

“The wards you refer to are overspill wards established during the COVID-19 pandemic. This winter, due to the post-pandemic surge in respiratory tract infections, temporary use of some beds in these wards was necessary,” the spokesperson said.

Patient beds in the staff canteen.

“Works on the wards in question are being planned for non-peak periods later this year, to ensure high-quality care even in overspill areas,” he added.

The space situation at Mater Dei has been a problem since before it was opened, when critics pointed out that the number of beds was too little when compared to the growing population. The lack of space takes on a different dimension during busy times of the year and, more recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the management had to maximise the use of space.

Hospital sources said the hospital had long reached “saturation point”. They said it was not only a question of providing beds for patients but ensuring there are enough nurses to see to their care. At present, there is a shortage of 500 nurses and the ratio is three nurses for every 24 patients.

Patient beds in the staff canteen.