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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASAHealth Service Executive says hospital operating at a staffing level of 260 above its approved limit as of last month
Delays in approving posts and restrictions on recruitment have left Cork University Hospital (CUH) facing a shortage of more than 1,000 staff, its chief executive has warned.
CUH’s Jennifer Kearney wrote to the Health Service Executive last week and said the hospital was facing increasing patient safety risks as a result.
“I do not believe that the current position is sustainable, nor do I believe it is safe to enter the winter period with the level of staffing uncertainty that currently exists,” she said.
Kearney said demand at the hospital was increasing faster than the available workforce, creating “sustained pressure” on emergency care capacity and patient flow as winter approaches.
She said the risk was particularly acute in areas with limited staffing resilience, where the loss of even a small number of staff could “materially affect our ability to provide a safe service”.
She said the posts required by CUH had already been identified as necessary and prioritised by the hospital, and were funded.
“I cannot accept a situation where a known and foreseeable patient safety risk is allowed to develop because clinically prioritised, funded posts have been held within an approval process and have not progressed,” she wrote.
Kearney has sought an immediate escalation of the situation to the HSE executive team, a derogation from current employment restrictions and approval for a minimum of 172 priority posts to allow the hospital to operate safely.
She warned there was a danger of the health service becoming focused on whether posts had passed through the correct approval process rather than the more fundamental question of whether the hospital had enough staff to provide safe care.
Responding to the letter, HSE South West said it recognised the increasing demand for services but said CUH was operating at a staffing level of 260 above its approved limit as of last month.
“CUH has continued to increase its workforce during the most recent reporting period,” it said on Wednesday.
“In contrast, other service areas have experienced workforce reductions while continuing to manage significant service pressures and associated risks.”
A spokesman for the HSE nationally said health services had unprecedented growth in the last five years of more than 23 per cent. “This is despite the global race for healthcare talent, where demand significantly outstrips supply,” he said.
On foot of Kearney’s letter, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said the HSE should lift what it described as an embargo on the appointment of 24 funded hospital consultant posts at Cork University Hospital.
In the letter, Kearney said the hospital had been asked at a meeting last May to significantly reduce a list of 120 priority posts. The hospital was told this was necessary because the list “would not look good nationally”.
The letter also highlights staffing pressures in radiography, where a combination of maternity leave, vacancies, and illness has resulted in the hospital having to restrict CT scanning capacity.
Kearney said the hospital was entering winter with a staffing gap of 1,059 posts while also experiencing a 12 per cent increase in demand.
Admissions among patients aged over 75 were running at twice the national average, adding further pressure to hospital services, she said.
The chief executive’s letter represents a formal escalation of concerns over the impact of staffing restrictions on CUH’s ability to maintain safe services as demand increases over the winter months.
The letter was written to Priscilla Lynch, integrated healthcare manager of the HSE.
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