CUH boss says hospital is 'unsafe' as over 1,000 roles vacant
The CEO of Cork University Hospital (CUH) has declared the facility unsafe due to over 1,000 staff vacancies and restrictive bureaucratic hiring processes. Management is calling for urgent intervention to address staffing gaps before the busy winter period.
Why it matters
It highlights critical systemic failures in public healthcare infrastructure and the direct impact of administrative constraints on patient safety.
CUH has had to “repeatedly re-prioritise” posts, the chief executive said. Picture: Chani Anderson
Amy Campbell Patient safety is at risk at CUH, as the hospital currently has more than 1,000 staff roles vacant, the CEO has said.
Jennifer Kearney has written a strongly worded letter to a HSE south west manager, saying that “increasingly bureaucratic processes” and “a prolonged suppression of recruitment” have left 348 whole time equivalent posts vacant despite having funding.
There are an additional 249 approved but unfunded vacancies, 202 posts identified but never filled, with 166 staff on maternity leave, with 88 more on long-term sickness leave – resulting in a total staffing gap of 1,053.
“Services are already reducing capacity, cancelling patients and relying on expensive temporary solutions,”
Ms Kearney added that it is unsafe for CUH to enter the busy winter period with the current level of staffing.
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