|
Resolution on the Medical Care of Children
at St Luke's Hospital
The Extraordinary General Meeting of the Maltese
Paediatric Association convened on May the 18th 2006 resolves by a
unanimous vote the following:
A. The Maltese Paediatric Association is
greatly concerned about the standards of medical care and patient
safety that can be provided by a single senior registrar on site
during on-duty hours in the Department of Paediatrics of St. Luke’s
Hospital and notes that:
1. There is a serious and chronic shortage
of Senior Registrars providing emergency cover at the Special
Care Baby Unit, Labour Ward, Nursery, Paediatric Wards and the
Emergency Department.
2. The Senior Registrar on-duty is being
compelled to work under conditions of unacceptable physical
and mental stress, without provisions for a compensatory
adequate rest period and rest break which are sufficiently
long to ensure that no injury is caused to oneself or to the
patients.
3. The Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive
Care Unit (SCBU) continues to be staffed by only one
paediatrician for periods extending from 17 to 24 hours
uninterruptedly despite the vastly increasing (i) complexity and standards of medical
care; (ii) patient expectations; and (iii) difficulties presented by
recurrent medical equipment failure.
4. The Director General of Health has been
notified about these concerns in a letter dated 8th March 2006
signed by all the Paediatric Consultants and Senior
Registrars, to which letter no acknowledgement has been
received to date.
B. The Maltese Paediatric Association calls
upon the Minister of Health, Director General of Health and the
Chairman of Paediatrics:
1. To increase the complement of
paediatricians without delay in order to provide uninterrupted
on-site cover for the SCBU whilst enabling the paediatricians
to safely attend to other emergencies in the Hospital.
2. To ensure that all doctors on-duty are
allowed compensatory rest so as to safeguard their health and
safety and that of their patients.
3. To prevent further losses of highly
trained paediatricians resulting from resignation of their
various posts as a consequence of their appalling and rapidly
deteriorating work conditions
4. To increase substantially the staff
complement of the Department of Paediatrics.
18th May 2006
|
