CUH clinical directors and consultants back CEO after 'unsafe' comments

CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney wrote to HSE South West management warning of unsafe conditions due to a shortage of more than 1,000 staff, inadequate staffing limits, and slow recruitment processes

The clinical directors and consultants say patients are unable to get appointments, and services are becoming increasingly fragile due to the inability to match staff with patient demand.

Senior clinical directors and consultants at Cork University Hospital (CUH) have written to the HSE in support of their chief executive after she issued a stark warning about patient safety. 

The clinical directors and consultants say patients are unable to get appointments, and services are becoming increasingly fragile due to the inability to match staff with patient demand.

CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney wrote to HSE South West management earlier this week, warning of unsafe conditions due to a shortage of more than 1,000 staff, inadequate staffing limits, and slow recruitment processes.

The clinical directors have now fully backed Ms Kearney’s stance and shared their support with HSE area manager Priscilla Lynch.

Doctors have also warned of the crisis facing patients and echoed concerns about recruitment delays, which are causing a "real risk to safety" even though winter pressures are still months away.

Chair of the consultant committee at CUH, Greg Fulton, said: “I share the serious concerns expressed by our CEO, Jennifer Kearney, regarding the hundreds of essential posts that have been awaiting approval from the HSE nationally for several months.” 

He added: “This is now a significant patient-safety concern and requires urgent action.” 

CEO Jennifer Kearney.

Chair of radiation oncology, Professor Aisling Barry, said the situation “really troubles me”, while the consultant in emergency medicine, Professor Conor Deasy, said he sees the impacts daily in the emergency department. 

“I am deeply grateful she has highlighted it for the sake and safety of our patients,” he said.

Paediatric radiologist Michael Breen warned: “Patients and frontline staff in Cork and Kerry cannot continue to absorb the consequences of longstanding deficits in staffing, capacity and infrastructure.” 

A former CUH chief executive, David Donegan, also posted on social media that he agrees with Ms Kearney and said it is "refreshing to see the clinical teams and CEO completely aligned”.

Labour Senator Laura Harmon has now called on the HSE and health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to publish patient-safety assessments linked to staff numbers.

She said: “Patients in Cork and Kerry deserve to know that staffing decisions are being driven by clinical need, not workforce ceilings.” 

HSE Southwest remains under Tier 3 financial restrictions due to overspending. 

The latest available data shows CUH has a year-to-date deficit of €35.5m at July 2026, including a pay deficit of €21.6m, a non-pay deficit of €6.4m, and an income deficit of €7.5m. Its budget now stands at €626m this year, up from €600m last year.