A dozen of the 16 patients identified as carriers of a potentially lethal superbug at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in Cork picked it up while in hospital, according to a new report by the health watchdog.

The Mercy University Hospital have appealed to the public to use other care services due to a surge in patients.

A few short months ago, Kerry man Pat Doody was engaged in a desperate battle — fighting for his life against oesophageal cancer.

A Cork hospital, which used a food meant for people in poverty worth almost €22,000 to feed patients, has said that it believed at the time it was eligible for the scheme.