No new elderly residents are being admitted to St Vincent De Paul Residence as a result of the spike in COVID-19 cases and directives by the nurses’ union, Times of Malta is informed.
Instead, elderly patients recovering in hospital are staying on wards for longer while those in line to be admitted are still on waiting lists.
In recent days, the number of cases in the community continued to spike, with hundreds of patients testing positive for COVID-19 daily.
On Friday, there were 506 new cases of the virus recorded in Malta, bringing the number of active cases to 7,939. One person with COVID-19 died overnight, according to the health ministry figures.
The rise in cases has prompted the authorities to be more vigilant with the most vulnerable patients, resulting in a slowdown in admissions.
To make matters worse, the courts on Monday ruled that industrial action ordered by the nurses’ union will not endanger patients’ lives and can go ahead after a short ban.
Even with testing upon admission, we are still having patients test positive while in hospital and that can be very dangerous- Paul Pace, MUMN
As part of the directives in place, patients are not being admitted to certain hospital wards and to the state’s home for the elderly, causing admissions there to come to a complete halt.
A spokesperson for the ministry for the elderly said: “The temporary diversion of admissions is a short-term measure that is reviewed on a daily basis.”
Meanwhile, Times of Malta is also informed the health authorities will continue to test every patient admitted to hospital for COVID-19.
The rule is the only major pandemic-related restriction still in place.
Sources at Mater Dei have said the hospital is full of asymptomatic patients that only find out they have COVID-19 when they are tested upon admission for other ailments.
“For the time being, testing will remain mandatory for all patients upon admission to the hospital,” a spokesperson said yesterday.
Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses president Paul Pace backed the need for routine testing.
“We have no option. Even with testing upon admission, we are still having patients test positive while in hospital and that can be very dangerous,” Pace said.
According to the union chief, there are currently nine wards at Mater Dei that are exclusively for COVID-19 patients.