Cork University Hospital staff shortages a risk to patients, says hospital’s CEO
The CEO of Cork University Hospital has warned that severe staffing shortages are compromising patient care, particularly in children's neurology and cancer radiology. Management is struggling to fill over 1,050 vacancies due to national HSE workforce ceilings.
Why it matters
It highlights the critical strain on public healthcare systems and the tension between fiscal austerity and clinical safety.
Children’s neurological services and radiology for cancer victims are among the services most affected by insufficient staffing at Cork University Hospital (CUH) outlined by the CEO, Jennifer Kearney, in a letter to HSE management.
Radiology for cancer treatment and children’s neurology are among the services most affected by insufficient staffing at Cork University Hospital (CUH), the hospital’s CEO said in a letter to HSE management this week.
Jennifer Kearney noted in her letter that there were more than 1,050 whole-time-equivalent (WTE) staffing gaps.
A new process, requiring hospital management to “prioritise” posts internally before progressing them to national HSE level for approval, began in March; and there were further restrictions due to CUH being “above its WTE ceiling” of limits set by national HSE senior management.
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