'Surgery recovery ward turned into marketplace', nurses warn
Nine highly specialised nurses who resigned from recovery ward have not yet been replaced
Nurses have warned that patient safety is being jeopardised by a Mater Dei Hospital decision to place patients awaiting surgery in areas dedicated to surgery recovery.
A letter to the Health Ministry’s permanent secretary, seen by Times of Malta, warns that the surgery recovery area, “which should be sterile, quiet, and highly controlled, has effectively been turned into a congested and disruptive environment".
Nurses who work in the hospital’s theatre department say they are concerned about infection control in what should be one of the most controlled and sterile environments within the hospital.
And in the letter to the health ministry, nurses warn that “it is only a matter of time before a serious adverse event, or even a fatality occurs due to the unsafe and chaotic conditions currently prevailing in the recovery area”.
“Transforming this space into what can only be described as a ‘marketplace’ - with relatives present, children moving around, and continuous unnecessary traffic - is directly jeopardising patient safety.
"Furthermore, the excessive noise, overcrowding, and constant interruptions are severely compromising the ability of nurses to perform their duties effectively and safely,” the letter to permanent secretary Renzo Degabriele warns.
According to theatre department staff, a number of holding bays that were temporarily repurposed into a medical ward last winter as part of the hospital’s escalation plan have continued being used as such.
This means that the area is not only used as a recovery ward, but also hosts patients awaiting surgery and patients awaiting discharge.
Sources within Mater Dei Hospital said that the arrangement began in the winter months when patient influxes were at a peak, but appears to have now been turned into a permanent arrangement.
Nurses say they want the recovery area to revert to its original purpose and note that nine highly specialised nurses who resigned from the ward have not yet been replaced.