Midwives who were moved to contact tracing teams have been "recalled" by their union after hundreds of parents signed a petition calling for parent craft classes to resume. 

On Monday, Times of Malta reported that hundreds of pregnant women and new parents had their weekly parenting classes postponed after the team providing the service was moved to the under-pressure COVID-19 contact tracing unit.

The move was confirmed by a spokesperson for Parentcraft Malta, a unit within Mater Dei Hospital that provides guidance on pregnancy, birth and baby care. Parents were said to be “devastated”.

Malta Union of Nurses and Midwives head Paul Pace said on Wednesday that some 500 parents have signed a petition calling for the service to resume, and his union was therefore telling its members to go back to their original posts.

They would no longer be part of the contact tracing team, he said.  

A health ministry spokesperson told Times of Malta earlier in the week that parent craft services have been temporarily suspended since staff have been deployed to the contact tracing initiative.  

The interruption of service was meant to be temporary. 

"Undoubtedly, every service provided by MDH is important, and we regret having to take this decision. Having said this, in these challenging times, difficult decisions must be made in terms of prioritisation of services. Effective contact tracing is recognised as a fundamental tool in the containment of COVID-19, which is a major threat to public health and especially to vulnerable persons and pregnant women," she said. 

The Public Health Department is currently recruiting further staff to keep contact tracing and COVID-19 case management efficient and timely, the spokesperson said.