Tom Stewart, the man who went missing from Mount Carmel Hospital 11 days ago escaped while a nurse was checking on another patient, a spokesman for the nurses’ union said yesterday.

The police confirmed yesterday that Mr Stewart, a 59-year-old Briton, who escaped while in the hospital’s internal yard on May 20, was still missing.

A Health Ministry spokeswoman told Times of Malta last week that when he escaped Mr Stewart was accompanied by his wife who therefore was “his responsible carer” at the time. The spokeswoman said Ms Stewart “had volunteered to accompany the patient in the internal yard”.

“The wife was a responsible carer but that doesn’t mean that the patient was not assigned to a nurse.

The problem stems from the fact that the nurse had three other patients to care for

“She is not a qualified staff member. The problem stems from the fact that the nurse had three other patients to care for,” the secretary general of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, Colin Galea, told this newspaper yesterday.

He said the case was another example of the problems arising due to staff shortages at the hospital, adding that the incident led to nurses being subjected to a board of inquiries and magisterial inquiries.

Questions sent to the Health Ministry last week on why the patient – who was under level one supervision and so should have been under constant watch – was allowed out in the yard with just his wife remain unanswered. The ministry was also asked what action would be taken to ensure such incidents would not be repeated, but that was not answered either.

Anyone with information about Mr Stewart’s whereabouts can contact the police on 2122 4001-9 or 119.

claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com