Medicine Robots That Cost €23 Million Make More Mistakes Than Humans, Nurses Union Claims
Malta’s nursing union has insisted that €23 million invested in a robotic system for administering drugs at Mater Dei Hospital was a waste of money since the system fails more often than human errors are made.
In a statement this morning, the Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) said that despite the Health Ministry’s “boasting and political hype”, two computerised systems purchased by the ministry in December 2017 and unveiled in December 2019, had resulted in a “complete failure”.
The union said that the two systems, named Mario and Sophia, were meant to be easily used by nurses and should have guaranteed a totally error-free system of drug administration.
“For two whole years, these systems have failed so frequently that errors occur more frequently than human errors were made, making nurses’ work more difficult due to the fact that the wrong medication or dose is given to some patients by these robots,” the union said.
It added that the result of this was that nurses needed to double-check the robot’s work. “Not to mention that these machines removed all accessibility for urgent treatment which was being ordered by the doctors from time to time.”
The union further added that the machines had taken up two vital rooms previously used as storage rooms, further adding to nurses’ difficulties.
“There were times where Mario or Sophia ceased working completely, leaving nurses stranded and with no drugs to give patients,” the MUMN said.
Attempts to have the situation addressed by the hospital’s management were ignored, the union said, adding that the response received was always that more time needed to be given for teething problems to be worked out.
The union claimed that all nurses working on wards in which the equipment was tested had requested a transfer.
A second issue plaguing the hospital, the union said, was yet another pilot project named Denova, this time for the procurement of disposable supplies through a private contractor.
While this was to result in cheaper supplies in reality it had resulted in nurses being left without important supplies.
The union urged all of its members not to use, or to do any work related to, Mario and Sophia or Denova.
What do you make of the union’s statement?
READ NEXT: Man Arrested Over Birkirkara Stabbing Which Left Victim In A Pool Of Blood
