The island is just over 200 miles from the war-ravaged country and the Maltese government and health authorities have been welcoming casualties.
But the
Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has released a statement saying it cannot cope with a ‘huge influx’ of patients from Libya.
It states that people have been nursed in corridors, which is against all principles of aseptic techniques, infection control and nursing practices.
MUMN also complained of a shortage of nurses, overcrowding, huge waiting lists, a lack of adequate community nursing care, insufficient beds in intensive care and wards and out of stock drugs and equipment.
The statement said: ‘MUMN will not allow additional beds to be placed in the existing Mater Dei/St Vincent de Paul Residence wards, when even today such wards have no adequate nursing staffing levels.’
But the Maltese government has insisted that since the Libyan uprising began, it has been at the forefront in offering help to those fighting for freedom and will continue to offer its help.
The government also pointed out those brought to Malta from Libya could not receive treatment in their own country.
The government said that doctors, nurses, professionals and other staff had worked together over the past weeks in a gesture of solidarity, and the health minister thanked them.
A government spokesperson added that the Maltese people are ‘proud of the dedication’ and services offered to those going through difficulties and that that efforts to help the Libyan people are not restricted to the island.
The row has broken out as fighting rages in the loyalist-held coastal town of Sirte in Libya - Col Muammar Gaddafi’s birthplace.
Yesterday two journalists and 14 Libyans injured in the clashes were airlifted to Malta and accepted for treatment.
Fighting also continues in Bani Walid, a town southeast of Tripoli, where anti-Gaddafi forces have been under heavy fire.
