HSE asked to prioritise CF unit staff

The HSE’s national recruitment service has been asked to prioritise staffing a new €2.3m respiratory ward, funded by a charity, that remains closed at Cork University Hospital (CUH) due to nurse shortages.

Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch said in the Dáil yesterday that she had also asked Gerry O’Dwyer, CEO of the South/South West Hospitals Group, to work on resolving the issue as soon as possible.

Ms Lynch was responding to criticisms made by a number of TDs about the hospital’s inability to open the ward, which it has blamed on recruitment difficulties.