A union’s directive could paralyse the entire health system within weeks, the active ageing minister warned yesterday, as one in 10 beds at Mater Dei and Boffa hospitals remain occupied by elderly patients waiting to be transferred to care homes. “This is not an industrial action anymore. It has become violence on the elderly,” said Active Ageing Minister Jo Etienne Abela. Nurses’ union president Paul Pace “We are being held with a gun to our head, unable to give people the service they deserve because of the union’s threatening directives.” The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has issued a directive to its members that does not allow state care homes to admit new residents. This follows the suspension of a nurse after an elderly resident disappeared from St Vincent de Paul and was later found dead. In his first interview since the disappearance and death of Carmelo Fino, Abela MUMN president Paul Pace over the “harmful” directive. But Pace stood firm on Monday, calling the minister a liar and saying he was attempting to cover up a system failure and frame weak workers to shirk responsibility for the incident. “He should have thought about the consequences of his actions...
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