There are two ongoing magisterial inquiries into deaths that occurred at Mater Dei Hospital and which the public is not aware of, according to the head of the nurses’ union.
The inquiries, “which involve nurses”, are investigating potential mistakes, oversights and wrongdoings in hospital practices but the deaths and the ongoing judicial process have not been publicly announced.
Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) president, Paul Pace told Times of Malta this is a good practice because it allows the judicial process to take its course without publicly and prematurely assigning blame on any of the staff.
He said this is in stark contrast with what happened to a nurse who was among seven workers suspended last summer after 83-year-old dementia patient Carmelo Fino walked out of St Vincent de Paul Residence in the middle of the night, got lost and was found dead two weeks later.
“Mistakes are happening in the system. Perhaps you wouldn’t know because they were not in the media but there are currently two other ongoing magisterial inquiries over deaths at Mater Dei,” Pace said.
“And they involve nurses as well.”
Pace was fielding questions about controversial union directives that he dished out last summer after an independent inquiry found that the nurse and six other St Vincent de Paul workers failed to do their job well that night.
Active Ageing Minister Jo Etienne Abela had immediately called for an independent investigation led by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia. The results of the inquiry were published, prompting Pace to order industrial action that nearly paralysed the healthcare system.
Pace argued that incidents like Fino’s were not only more common than people might think but they are also inevitable because they are the result of a broken healthcare system that expects too much of nurses whose dire working conditions are leading to staff shortages that create an environment where “mistakes are bound to happen”.
The only difference is that when such incidents happen within the health ministry, the minister does not publicly shame the nurses but helps them and pays for their lawyers, Pace argued.
Conversely, when a similar incident happened at the state’s largest elderly residence, the active ageing ministry “framed” the nurse, shamed and publicly “crucified” him for a mistake that was no fault of his own.
“Don’t think Fino’s case is an isolated one,” Pace said.
“But when these incidents happened at Mater Dei, [Chris] Fearne did not bring out the retired judge to conduct a second inquiry and pin the blame on the nurses.”
Asked about the need for ministers to order independent and transparent inquiries that are published to hold responsible people accountable for their mistakes, Pace insisted that one magisterial inquiry into each incident is enough. A second inquiry would be used to frame or threaten nurses or absolve the minister and the administration of the blame.
In a reply to questions, the health ministry refused to provide details on the deaths and the inquiries, saying it cannot comment on ongoing magisterial inquiries.