Health minister defends Cork University Hospital staffing amid criticism

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she would have no hesitation recommending Cork University Hospital (CUH) to a sick relative, praising the standard of care at the facility.

Speaking at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Cork on Saturday, Carroll MacNeill asserted that CUH’s patient outcomes and specialist consultants are “extremely good” and that she has personal confidence in the care provided, including cancer services and the hospital’s role as a major trauma centre.

She dismissed recent concerns raised by nine CUH clinical directors, who wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin about staffing levels, and rejected claims that CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney had been “punished” for raising those concerns.

The minister highlighted that CUH has hired twice as many staff as budgeted, citing a recent figure of 324 additional hires, and pointed to regional investment such as the increase in beds at Mallow Hospital from 34 to 97.

Carroll MacNeill did not comment on whether Andy Phillips, the HSE’s senior regional executive, would face disciplinary action after stating he had been asked by the Taoiseach’s office to have “very specific” conversations with CUH management.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Lajos Kristóf Kántor / Pexels.