Nurses to take action over staff shortage

Nurses will take industrial action as from Monday, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said yesterday.

In a letter to hospital chief executive officer Kenneth Grech, union general secretary Colin Galea said as from 7 a.m. on Monday nurses at St Luke's Hospital, Karin Grech Hospital and the hospital's outpatients department will not move from the ward, unit or operating theatre they are allocated to.

Mr Galea said that when the nurses' complement in the medical and surgical wards - as agreed in the collective agreement - is not reached, the nurses would not leave the wards for chores and patients would only be washed where essential.

A meeting between union officials and Dr Grech was held yesterday.

Mr Galea said the union appreciated Dr Grech's and the hospital management's commitment to finding a solution to the situation but added that the solutions proposed were far from the agreement signed between the union and the Health Division.

"Although everybody understands that the shortage of nurses is leading to a deterioration in the level of care, financial restrictions imposed on the hospital are not allowing the nurses' complement to be reached," he said.

Mr Galea said the union had the duty to ensure that the complement was reached.

During a meeting last Friday the union voiced concern that although the number of patients in surgical wards had at times increased to 37 from the usual 30, only three or four nurses were on duty.