Malta’s nurses union has expressed its “disappointment and disapproval” at the fact that more wards at Mount Carmel Hospital are being closed down as a result of the continued deterioration of the hospital, describing promises of government investment as fake news.

In a statement today, the union said that eight wards had been closed down over the course of the last eight years, as a result of “non-existent maintenance, and a lack of proper refurbishment”.

“Some of these wards were closed down more than six years ago and are still closed to this very day,” the union said, adding that the situation hadn’t improved, despite a change in the hospital’s leadership.

It said the present situation was resulting in a “chaotic mixture” of chronic patients with those suffering from acute conditions. This, it said, went contrary to all established psychiatric guidelines.

The union noted that while other hospitals, like the St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly, were able to have wards refurbished in one year, “at Mount Carmel Hospital any ward which closes down is never opened again”.

Despite the “recent fake news” about a €6 million investment in the hospital, the union said that to date, there had been no changes with the exception of the relocation of elderly patients to private homes for the elderly.

The present situation, the union added, was demotivating the hospital staff.

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