MaltaMedia.com

Health Department explains Mater Dei bedding issue

Posted on February 25th, 2012

Reference is made to the press statements being issued by trade unions representing health care workers. The Department of Health wishes to reassure the public that all the decisions that have been taken over the past days and weeks to deal with the extraordinary influx of patients at Mater Dei Hospital have been with the primary objective of safeguarding patients. The safety of all health workers seeking to cope with delivering care to the increased influx of patients is also constantly kept in mind, accordingly. The effort being made by all health care workers is commendable.

The Department affirms that in this context it is preferable to accommodate two patients in a single room rather than leaving patients waiting for a bed in a corridor. This position was made clear with MUMN and UHM who separately voiced their concerns with the Department of Health. The Department of Health wishes to clarify that no patients are going to be moved out of their rooms to be placed in a corridor. Given that over the past few days there have not been any patients in the emergency corridor, the Department was able to agree to keep only one extra bed in the wards. The department tries to ensure that the additional workload is fairly distributed across the hospital.

Should the situation change, the Department may have to reconsider accordingly. The Department of Health will continue to engage with all stakeholders to find longer term solutions such as a new 16 bedded ward adjacent to the Emergency Department.