Nurses have threatened to declare an industrial dispute unless logistical problems plaguing COVID-19 vaccine rollout at health centres are resolved.
The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses is demanding at least two additional security guards at each healthcare centre, patients to be contacted by phone ahead of their vaccine appointment tand for time intervals allocated for vaccinations to be doubled, to give nurses enough time to administer jabs.
In an open letter addressed to the permanent secretary within the health ministry, Joseph Rapa, the MUMN said the government's primary health care division had failed "even on the basics of organizing a proper vaccination strategy."
Its demands come one day after Times of Malta reported long queues and overcrowding at health centres currently providing COVID-19 vaccines to over 85s who live in the community.
Senior citizens reported chaos, frustration and hours-long waits outside Floriana and Gżira health centres.
“It’s very disorganised, it’s cold and people my age have nowhere to sit,” Carmen Bonello, 90, said.
The vaccine rollout effort has also been criticised after vaccination appointment letters were sent out to senior citizens who have died.
MUMN said the problems had vindicated its earlier warnings and accused primary healthcare management of putting senior citizens at risk.
Management was “just looking at numbers without going into the logistics of each and every health centre,” the union said.
It said that nurses were not being given enough time to prepare and administer vaccines, with five patients scheduled to be vaccinated every 15 minutes.
The MUMN wants that time window to be doubled to 30 minutes, and for primary care staff to confirm vaccination appointments with patients over the phone beforehand.
It said it would be filing an industrial dispute if those changes were not introduced.
The MUMN also said it would be meeting with nurses working at health centres to check on their working conditions and see if other issues concerning COVID-19 vaccine rollout arose.