[WATCH]: MUMN: Emergency ambulance fleet unacceptable

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) said in a statement that the sensitive  issue  that  has  been  developing    for  the  past  year  in  the  emergency department in Mater Dei Hospital. and the poor state of the emergency ambulance fleet being used for emergency cases is not acceptable any more. 

"So far, the MUMN have remained quite patient when it comes to directives to be taken in the E/A department since MUMN is aware that such nurses provide a  very  essential  service.  Nevertheless,  at  this  point  in  time,  the  situation  has simply grown out of proportion and the ambulance fleet has deteriorated so as to become unsafe for patients and nurses working on them," MUMN President Paul Pace said. 

"It  is  unacceptable  that  an  ambulance that  has been declared  unfit  for  usage  at midnight is then provided at 07.00h. with the same faults it had at midnight," he said.

"Similarly, it is totally unacceptable to have an ambulance with a malfunctioning air-conditioning system or  siren  that is not fit for use at Mosta Health Centre, but to be subsequently provided for use at Mater Dei Hospital. Can somebody accept the fact that a broken seat in the back of an ambulance that can be used by relatives, patients or the nurses  themselves be repaired by  the use of cable ties? Who is certifying such modification?", he asks. 

MUMN  through  its  members  have  been  repeatedly  pointing  out  that  the ambulances in Mater Dei Hospital are not up to the necessary safety standards. In fact such ambulances even had sirens not functioning at all and still provided by the ambulance garage for emergency cases.

Although the Health Division have been assuring MUMN and its members  that a  fleet  of  new  ambulances  will  soon  be  purchased,  it  is  clear  that  the  Health Division has been taking MUMN and its nurses for a ride since this has been an ongoing problem for more than a year now. 

Unfortunately  the  Health  Department    seems  more  inclined  to  the    hiring  of private ambulances rather than investing  in a new fleet. Mean while the hiring of  ambulances  is  causing  the  taxpayer  to  simply  fork  out  huge  amounts  of money by hiring discarded ambulances from the United Kingdom from private
contractors.    Nevertheless, the provision of  a  new  ambulances  will only  solve the  problem  temporarily.  Drastic  measures  need  to  be  taken  with  the  general running of the ambulance garage system, followed by a much needed overhaul of  the  whole  pre-hospital  system. 

"To  this  very  day  the  legislation  so  that  our highly trained emergency nurses to provide life saving drugs in pre ambulance care is still not in  force. Another one of those issues where the Health Division has been “studying” for the last eight years", MUMN President Paul Pace argued.

The  MUMN is therefore  issuing  directives  to  the  E/A  department  in  Mater  Dei Hospital  and  to  Mosta  Health  Centre,  that  any  ambulances  being  provided  by the ambulance garage, that are defective, have an non functioning siren, have a malfunctioning  air-condition  system  and  is  not  to  proper  health  and  safety
standards,  are  not  to  be  used  and  such  nurses  are  to  refuse  to  go  on  such ambulances.

"Nurses who provide such emergency service so vital to the country should not have their lives put at risk by either lack of management in the Health Division or by someone who is after all just benefiting from such a
situation," MUMN said.