‘Weak and defensive’ Martin blasted over issues at Cork University Hospital

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been accused of appearing “detached, weak, and defensive” over ongoing issues at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

The Fianna Fáil leader has faced further pressure to intervene following reports of patient safety risks arising from staffing shortages and restrictions.

Clinical directors at CUH have urged Mr Martin to have an independent assessment of staffing needs at the hospital.

It was reported that a letter was sent to the Taoiseach in which they called for an urgent approval of 172 priority posts and for the staffing of 21 acute beds.

The chief executive of CUH, Jennifer Kearney, has repeatedly raised patient safety concerns at the hospital because of a lack of resources and job vacancies.

Last week, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, said the “very significant” increase in the permanent workforce at the hospital and the south west region has to be “tempered” over time.

She said the south-west region is “substantially over budget” because of the number of health staff recruited.

Liam Quaide, Social Democrats TD for Cork East, accused Mr Martin of failing to challenge the minister.

“It is fair to question how in touch you are with what is happening (at the hospital), because increasingly you look detached, weak, and defensive on this issue, unwilling to challenge a Minister for Health who discredits CUH at every opportunity, a minister who is using selective recruitment and trolley figures, stripped of context about demand, complexity, and long-standing staffing and bed shortages,” Mr Quaide said.

“Rather than challenging the minister, you are providing her with political cover.

“It is relatively easy to scapegoat a hospital CEO who has sounded the alarm about what is happening at CUH, but it is much harder when nine clinical directors reinforce her account, writing to you about your minister’s misrepresentation of CUH, the damage to staff morale, recruitment and retention, and the need for an independent staffing assessment.

“I’ve received an extremely disturbing account of what happened at CUH last Thursday and Friday, with emergency capacity overwhelmed. Cancer operations were cancelled at short notice. Women admitted for mastectomies, some already in hospital gowns, were sent home.

“Colon, brain, and prostate cancer operations were also cancelled. Taoiseach, imagine the distress of those patients.

“These are the consequences of your minister’s hard-line attitude to CUH and her refusal to reckon with the reality of staffing shortages and overcrowding.

“Your Government’s own plan has identified CUH as having the country’s largest adult inpatient and critical care bed deficit.”

Mr Martin said that “all is not well” at CUH for “different reasons”.

He ruled out overriding the health minister on the issue.

“I do want to see a resolution of the issue, but directly trying to go over the head of the minister, either by clinicians or whatever, that won’t work. That’s not the pathway to resolving these issues,” Mr Martin added.

“Nor is it presenting inaccurate and untrue accounts of meetings that people had locally. That’s not a good way to do business either.

“In terms of the safety issue, and I do believe CUH, the Mercy, Victoria, Mallow, Bantry, all have to be looked as an integrated public hospital service that complements each other and that provides a service to the public and to the patients.”