The nurses’ union is threatening to “block” emergency services unless its members at the Mater Dei Hospital’s Emergency Department’ and Mount Carmel Hospital are given occupational insurance.

Following an incident last week where a nurse was pushed down the stairs by a patient’s relative and another assaulted, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) gave the health authorities until last Friday to provide insurance policy documents.

These, however, were not provided, prompting the union to instruct its members at the emergency department to not handle cases considered of lower priority.

At Mount Carmel, nurses have been ordered to not report to the police patients who failed to return to the hospital after being allowed out on a few days’ leave.

Almost 120 nurses are following the union’s directives. Lamenting the impasse on the issue, MUMN head Paul Pace told Times of Malta the union had no other option but to issue the directives. 

“Nurses are currently not providing a service in areas three and four, which are the areas for patients requiring assistance of a lower priority,” Mr Pace said.

“We are now getting to the point where we are about to escalate directives to also include areas one and two which are for high-risk emergencies.”

This would effectively “block the emergency department”, he said, adding that the union should not have to resort to such measures to get what was owed to its members.

“Why do we have to always resort to disruption of service to get what is ours?” Mr Pace said.

Nurses have been asking for insurance for several years, but the issue came to a head earlier this year after the government announced its uniformed personnel would be covered by occupational insurance. Under that scheme, members of the disciplined forces are eligible for compensation of up to €180,000 in case of death or injury while on duty.

According to Mr Pace, during a meeting with the union some four months ago, both Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Health Minister Chris Fearne had agreed that nurses working in certain high-risk environments should be covered by a similar occupational insurance.

Despite meetings with the health ministry on the issue in recent months, no progress was made, Mr Pace said, with the union repeatedly told “the government is working on it”.

“It’s not like we are asking for coverage of all the nurses. Our request was a reasonable one. We just want those who are most at risk to be protected,” Mr Pace said.  The union head insisted that assaults on nurses who work in the department, the first line of contact for hospital care, including those who go out on ambulances, regularly face aggression on the job.

Contacted about the matter, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said “discussions on this issue are ongoing” but did not provide any additional information.

Questions on the union threatening to “block” emergency services remained unanswered at the time of writing.