Mater Dei CEO Defends Fast Food Ban: ‘Hospital Needs To Drive Healthy Eating Message Home’
The CEO of Mater Dei has defended the hospital’s decision to stop providing unhealthy food on its premises in light of a threat of industrial action by the nurses and midwives’ union.
“We’re a hospital and I think we have an obligation to drive the message home about the importance of healthy eating, particularly considering how Malta ranks highly in the obesity and diabetes charts,” Ivan Falzon told Lovin Malta.
He confirmed the hospital management will request a meeting with the union over the issue but insisted the discussion will not be about reversing the directive but about potentially tweaking the menu.
“I don’t think we went too extreme and we left the staff with a number of options such as baguettes and sandwiches,” he said. “It’s also not true that we’re denying staff the right to eat what they want, we’re only stating what food will be provided by the hospital itself.”
On Monday, Mater Dei’s canteens and food outlets stopped providing several unhealthy food items, such as pastizzi, soft drinks, chocolate and fried food, to its staff, patients and visitors. The directive was announced last year, following consultation with the Health Promotion Directorate, and had been phased in before coming into full force three days ago.
Denouncing the decision as a cost-cutting exercise, the nurses’ union (MUMN) said that Mater Dei should introduce a free gym on its premises if it was worried about staff health, but not “restrict our food to an antagonising meal, notwithstanding that most MUMN members have to work 12-hour shifts”.
Several staff members also took to social media to criticise the decision.
“I find it absolutely ridiculous that the management thinks that this is in any way beneficial to the health of staff,” a doctor said. “When working a 24 hour on call shift with barely a few hours of interrupted sleep, I think I reserve the right to eat whatever I like.”
“The sugar helps. A lot. Most of us only function because of caffeine and sugar when on call. Don’t take away one of the few comforts we’re allowed when putting ourselves through insanely unsafe working conditions for the general public.”
“If I’m trusted to treat sick (or maybe critical!) children and babies, I should be trusted to make my own decisions regarding my diet.”
“If the management wants to promote staff health, then improve our working conditions; improve staffing; improve rostering. Give us unrestricted access to drinking water during the hot and busy shifts. Reduce the dangerous working hours.”
Instead we are offered a 30c bottle of water to redeem with the lunch voucher (estimated cost of 2euro). It seems to be more of a cost-cutting exercise to me.
A nurse said it would have been way better had the hospital promoted physical exercise during breaks or in daily life rather than enforcing this ban.
“Moreover, the food offered during lunch is tasteless, appalling and still unhealthy most of the times,” he said. “I always used to take my own lunch from home most of the time and would redeem my lunch entitlement on an energy drink. Who is to tell me that I am not allowed to have an energy drink to boost me for my last part of my work day?”
“Who has the right to tell me that I cannot have sugar or such energy drinks, which I need to be able to keep training intensively on a daily basis? This is not allowed anymore which leaves me and others to either eat what we are offered or pay from our own salary for the lunch without actually redeeming it. Please take note that we don’t have any opt out option.”
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