Update 2 | Battle of the unions: MUMN says UHM's industrial actions putting patients’ lives at risk

The Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) today accused Union Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM) of putting patients’ lives at risk by ordering Mater Dei employees to refuse to carry out blood tests.

This week, UHM issued directives to the Laboratory Technicians working in Mater Dei Hospital to refuse to process essential and urgent blood investigation by not accepting the blood samples through the pneumatic tube system, meaning no blood results are being issued.

“This reckless directive is putting the patients’ lives at risk since urgent blood investigations are not being processed at the detriment of the patients’ lives and the critical condition they are currently suffering,” MUMN boss Paul Pace said.

Since blood investigations are being refused, Pace said that nurses and midwives are being constrained to abandon their wards and take the blood samples physically to the laboratory, “begging” laboratory technicians to process urgent blood tests.

Noting that given the critical condition of the patients such results could be a matter of life and death for the patient.

“In fact the few blood results issued were only thanks to the responsible nurses and midwives who felt that such industrial action is severely effecting the patients’ well being,” Pace said, adding that MUMN’s directives had never impacted negatively on the patients’ well being and on members belonging to other unions.

“This shows how UHM does not observe and does not merit the respect in any trade unions’ relations which UHM boasts to be a pioneer.”

Stressing that MUMN is “responsible,” Pace said the union instructed all nurses and midwives to continue taking the necessary blood investigations ordered by the doctors and continue sending them to the laboratory through the pneumatic tube system.

“If due to the UHM’s directives such blood samples are returned back, nurses and midwives are to keep on sending the blood samples of the patients, hopefully that the Laboratory Technicians will finally accept to process such urgent and vital blood investigation and issue a result much desired for the benefit of the patients.”

UHM questions whether government and Pace working together against them

In a response, UHM said that, during communication between themselves and the government this morning, the government had made a direct reference about Pace’s above press release. They said that this occurred before Pace had issued it. 

“Does this mean that the government and Paul Pace are working together against UHM?” UH secretary general Josef Vella questioned.

He dismissed Pace’s criticism, saying that urgent blood samples are being processed and transported, but by nursing aides and care-workers instead of nurses.

“Paul Pace’s constant directives do in fact impact on the well-being and members of the UHM,” Vella said. “He had once issued a directive not to get patients down from their beds. It was the physiotherapists’ intervention that prevented patients from generating pressure sores. Only a few months ago, Pace’s ‘responsible union’ effectively stopped all chemotherapy and it was only through UHM and its pharmacist members that patients’ lives were saved through chemotherapy.”

He pointed out that, on the day, the government had informed the patients that their chemotherapy appointments had been moved back by a week due to a large influx of patients, rather than telling them about Pace’s directives.

“One should ask, was Pace’s intervention done due to hidden agenda?” Vella questioned. “Was perhaps a call for application issued by coincidence?”

MUMM blasts UHM’s ‘blatant chemotherapy lies’

In a counter-response, MUMN vehemently denied that it had stopped all chemotherapy at Boffa Hospital.

“The UHM’s press statement is a blatant lie for which we will be seeking legal advice,” Paul Pace said. “Moreover, MUMN enjoys a 100% membership on all pharmacists in the constitution unit in Boffa Unit. All services in Boffa with regards the preparation of chemotherapy is provided by pharmacists who are MUMN members.”

Pace accused UHM of trying to deviate the general public from the “great harm” that UHM has placed patients in as a result of their current directives in Mater Dei Hospital.

“[The UHM’s directives] are irresponsible and highly unethical, since they don’t distinguish between urgent life-saving blood investigations and routine ones,” Pace said. “Such directives can easily cause the death of any critically ill patients in Mater Dei and the Health Minister should take note of it.”