Cork University Hospital consultants seek independent staffing assessment over patient safety fears

An independent assessor is required to determine appropriate staffing levels at Cork University Hospital (CUH), consultants have urged.

In a letter to Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on Wednesday, the consultants wrote that a staffing shortfall was “already affecting patient services and will increase the risk to the safety of CUH patients heading into the winter period”.

“We believe that this has occurred as a result of years of underfunding relative to other similar-sized hospitals. This, we contend, is due, in part, to a recurring desire of CUH management over many years to stay within their budget allocation when other hospitals did not.”

On Wednesday morning the Minister said CUH must improve in managing its budget and deploying its resources.

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Source: The Irish Times, 26 August 2026