Nurses’ union using government marketing funds for overseas travel

A recent audit by the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that officials and members of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) improperly used government funds designated for a marketing campaign aimed at recruiting more individuals into the nursing profession for unauthorised and unrelated travel.

Despite these clear irregularities, the Health Ministry and its Permanent Secretary approved the disbursement of these funds, at times years after the travel had occurred.

According to the NAO, since 2007, the MUMN has been awarded tens of thousands of euros annually through various agreements with the Health Ministry to conduct a national campaign to promote the nursing profession.

Between 2000 and 2004, the government paid the MUMN over €200,000 for such campaigns, even though the union did not submit any invoices, raising serious doubts about whether the claimed costs were legitimate.

Upon closer examination of the use of these funds, the NAO found that union officials frequently used the government subvention for activities unrelated to marketing campaigns.

For example, in June 2020, 49 union members travelled to London to attend the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Conference.

The government reimbursed them €20,000 from the allocated marketing funds, even though the travel was unrelated to marketing efforts.

Although the Permanent Secretary approved the reimbursement, the NAO found no evidence of participant lists or related invoices justifying these costs.

In June 2019, two MUMN officials travelled to Singapore to attend the International Council of Nurses, again unrelated to marketing.

The Health Ministry reimbursed the union nearly €7,000 for these travel expenses. The NAO found that the disbursement of public funds “was not authorised beforehand and was only endorsed by the Permanent Secretary two years later.”

The same issue arose with the reimbursement claim for the Commonwealth conference, which was submitted months after the event.

The NAO expressed concerns regarding the usage and verification of the funds allocated for the marketing campaign, which amount to approximately €70,000 per year.

According to the Health Ministry, financial support was provided based on invoices submitted by the union, but “the respective information has not been traced in files since 2007.”

Additionally, fiscal receipts could not be located, and the Ministry of Health provided only a few screenshots displaying billboards and advertisements. Consequently, the NAO concluded that the necessary verifications could not be reached.

The Shift has previously reported that MUMN President Paul Pace has repeatedly misused public funds, claiming tens of thousands of euro in unauthorised overtime at Mount Carmel Hospital while he was abroad on holiday.

An internal investigation by the Health Ministry confirmed Pace’s misconduct. Yet he was not dismissed from his position but was instead instructed to reimburse part of the misappropriated funds and given a brief suspension.

Meanwhile, the police have never brought charges against Pace, and his fellow MUMN members have not removed him from his role as union president.