Patients still taking brunt of industrial action

With no end in sight to the dispute between the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the health division over allowances for ambulance drivers, patients are still taking the brunt of the industrial action.

The health division yesterday once again gave a list of cases in which patients were denied transport.

In one case, an ambulance was called to transfer a patient from St Vincent de Paul Residence to casualty.

While the ambulance was at SVPR, another request was received from the same residence to have an elderly patient suffering from a fracture femur, transferred to St Luke's Hospital.

Although the ambulance was capable of catering for two stretchers, the driver refused to transfer the two patients together, the health division said. As a result a second stand-by ambulance had to be dispatched, resulting in undue hardship for the patient and a waste of resources for the hospital.

A patient suffering from a cardiac arrest in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, was transferred from Paola Health Centre to casualty by a health division ambulance accompanied by a medical doctor.

The ambulance drivers refused to take the doctor back to the health centre. The hospital administration had to intervene and asked a casualty nurse whether it was possible to transport the doctor back to Paola Health Centre, using his own personal car. The nurse accepted and the situation was resolved. However, valuable nursing and doctor working hours were lost in the process, it said.

The industrial action by ambulance drivers is now in its eighth week.