Nurses will be among those answering calls made to a telemedicine hotline that the government is planning on launching to cut down on numbers at the emergency department.

In May, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela told Times of Malta that patients would soon be able to call 1400 before heading to Mater Dei's emergency department. 

After hearing a patient’s symptoms and history, a medical professional will advise the patient where best to receive treatment. This means a number of patients would be rerouted to local health centres instead of the main hospital's emergency department. 

On Wednesday, the nurses' union said it had reached an agreement with the government to have a group of nurses trained to handle the calls.

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said in a statement healthcare professionals including nurses will assess the degree of urgency during the call and the person will be directed to the best available emergency facility in the country.

1400 will not replace the existing 112 service. The 1400 service is an assessment and streamlining service that will ensure patients are safely guided through telemedicine while harnessing every possible emergency asset in the country, MUMN added.

It added it had reached an agreement with the health ministry to issue a call for nurses to undergo training to ensure they are familiar with the process.