Irish Examiner view: Patients should not have to cope with hospital staffing issues
A specific staffing issue at Cork University Hospital was reported in the 'Irish Examiner' by Amy Campbell. Stock picture: Denis Minihane
Readers will hardly need reminding of the challenges facing our health service on practically all fronts, from delays with delivering vital infrastructure such as the national children’s hospital to the controversy about the cost of medication for those suffering from Friedreich’s ataxia.
A specific issue with staffing at Cork University Hospital (CUH) was reported here by Amy Campbell some days ago, when CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney wrote to the Health Service Executive South West.
Ms Kearney pointed out that the hospital is down 1,050 staff and that it is not a safe level ahead of the coming winter.
What is striking is the level of support which has emerged since then for her position, particularly from senior members of staff at CUH such as clinical directors and consultants.
The comments of Greg Fulton, chairman of the consultant committee at CUH, were typical: “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. This is now a significant patient-safety concern and requires urgent action.”
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Even without the benefit of medical training — or a human resources background — common sense would suggest this is a disaster waiting to happen. Any organisation which is short over 1,000 staff members, as is the case here, cannot be operating properly.
The consultants and directors mentioned above have made that very point, stating that patients are unable to get appointments and that services are becoming increasingly fragile — an ominous state of affairs with the expected winter pressure on services still some months away.
It must be acknowledged that HSE South West is operating under financial restrictions due to overspending, while CUH itself is running a sizeable deficit.
However, those issues are not the fault of patients who present at the hospital for treatment. Those people are entitled to the best of care and should not be carrying the can for financial issues in the health system.
Yesterday was the day of destiny for thousands of teenagers whose secondary education finally came to an end with their Leaving Certificate results.
It is a major life event for most people, one with a very broad reach — over 70,000 people were waiting for their results to go live online and in schools at 10am.
Readers will be familiar with the imagery in media reports at this time of the year —typically of excited school-leavers comparing their papers .
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There has been quite a lot of discussion already about the grades in this year’s examination. As reported by Jess Casey, State Examinations Commission (SEC) data shows that this year’s leaving certificate students received fewer top grades, with the proportion of H1s down by over 1.5% on 2025.
This is in line with the continued efforts to address the grade inflation which soared following changes to the traditional Leaving Cert format and marking system caused by the disruption of covid.
Those changes were brought in to help students who had to deal with pandemic restrictions and to ensure their marks would not be lower than expected because of those restrictions.
Just as that was the fairest way to address an unprecedented crisis, it is only reasonable now to move away from that grade inflation in a measured way. If the playing field is not levelled we could be dealing with the potential implications for admission to specific college courses in years to come.
That does not alter the basic fact that thousands of schoolchildren should be congratulated on their efforts in this year’s exam. As the minister for education, Hildegarde Naughton, pointed out this week: “ . . . it’s important to remember that this cohort . . . of Leaving Cert students went into first year in 2020 wearing masks, trying to get to know their friends and their peers through unprecedented times, so this has been a huge journey for them.” The best of luck to all of them in their next step on that journey.
It was perhaps a little surprising not to learn about this development from a Facebook update, but it was reported in newspapers instead.
Meta’s billionaire chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has purchased Strancally Castle in Co Waterford with his wife, Priscilla Chan.
A Gothic-style building on a 440-acre estate, it is located on the banks of the River Blackwater, near Knockanore in west Waterford.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for Mr Zuckerberg said: “Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters.”
Mr Zuckerberg is not the only wealthy resident in the locality. Not far away is Ballynatray House, the estate owned by fellow billionaire James Dyson, the vacuum cleaner magnate. When he bought Ballynatray House two years ago it was Ireland’s biggest-ever private house sale at well over €30m.
It is not clear how much time Mr Zuckerberg plans on spending in Waterford, but perhaps he can expect a knock on his front door soon. He does not have an ownership stake in any professional sports teams, unlike many of his peers, so perhaps Waterford GAA will persuade him to get on board with their county teams.
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