HSE chief dismisses calls for independent review of CUH staffing levels

Concerns around trolley numbers, staffing, and patient safety at Cork University Hospital continue to mount

In August Cork University Hospital's CEO wrote to HSE officials, warning about the shortfall of staff. File picture: Noel Sweeney

The head of the HSE has dismissed calls for an independent review of staffing levels at Cork University Hospital and has hit out at an "illegally recorded" meeting involving senior hospital management.

HSE chief executive Anne O'Connor has said CUH has a "very significant" number of patients attending, but she stressed that patient safety is the single most important issue and "all hospitals" are facing similar challenges.

It comes amid mounting concerns around hospital trolley numbers, staffing, and patient safety at CUH.

In August, CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney wrote to senior HSE officials warning of a shortfall of about 1,000 staff, caused by recruitment restrictions and delays in approving posts.

She urgently sought the prioritisation of 172 posts before the busy winter season for the hospital. 

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has repeatedly dismissed concerns around staffing, saying CUH has hired twice as many staff as had been budgeted.

At a meeting shortly after Ms Kearney's letter was made public, HSE South West chief Andy Phillips warned of possible “performance management” action. 

At the meeting, a recording of which was released to the Irish Times, Mr Philips claimed the offices of Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill had instructed him to speak to Ms Kearney.

Mr Martin denied this, and Mr Phillips has since apologised, saying no such instruction had been made to him.

Ms O'Connor has now suggested the meeting of senior HSE staff and hospital leaders was "illegally recorded".

Comments made in 'heat of the moment'

"In CUH, what worries me probably the most at the minute is the number of staff that I speak to in the hospital who are really very upset about what is going on, who are fearful of meetings because they fear they may be recorded," she said.

She said some of the comments made by Mr Philips were in the "heat of the moment" and "out of frustration", adding that he has since clarified some of the remarks.

Ms O'Connor told RTÉ's This Week programme that there are 295 more staff, including 55 more doctors, since the start of the year, and the hospital has more than 5,100 staff.

Asked about an independent assessment of staff, which senior clinicians have called for, she said: "To be honest, I don't think we need it."

However, she added that "CUH doesn't operate in a bubble", stressing that integrated care as part of the rollout of Sláintecare must be implemented.

"If we continually invest in our acute hospitals only, it means that we won't be able to invest in our community services, and we know as Sláintecare tells us, that that must be our direction of travel, so it's supporting care where it's needed."