Opposition criticises government response to GHA staffing concerns

The GSD Opposition has criticised the Government of Gibraltar’s response to issues raised over staffing levels within the Gibraltar Health Authority, accusing it of failing to acknowledge the experiences of staff and patients.

In a statement, the Opposition said the Minister for Health’s recent comments on GHA staffing levels reflected a government that is “out of touch” and focused on quoting statistics rather than addressing concerns about overstretched staff and patient safety.

The Opposition also said the Government’s dismissal of frontline experiences as “gossip” was “disrespectful” and led to a disconnect between the data being presented and the actual situation on the ground.

It claimed that although the Government continues to point to increases in the number of nurses over the last 14 years, it does so “in a vacuum” without taking into account wider issues, including staff shortages, unfilled vacancies and growing pressure on healthcare services.

The shadow for Health, Joelle Ladislaus, said: “At no point have the Opposition sought to claim that the number of surgical cancellations hasn’t decreased.”

“The most significant points are still being missed by this Government.”

“Staff are clearly being overstretched and have expressed concerns about patient safety because there aren’t enough staff to care for the number of patients.”

“Faced with that reality, the Government continue to congratulate themselves because the numbers show that surgery cancellations (overall) have decreased in recent months.”

“The numbers which are most significant, and should be made public by the Minister for Health, are the ratio of registered nurses to patients on wards for every shift in recent months; the numbers relating to the staff surveys undertaken in 2024 and 2025; and the data arising from a skill mix review, which hasn’t been undertaken in a long time and will show where staff are most needed.”

“Those numbers viewed alongside what staff and patients are saying provide the fuller picture.”