HSE chief says Cork University Hospital staff fear being recorded
HSE chief Anne O'Connor says Cork University Hospital staff fear their meetings may be recorded, and she rejects calls for an independent CUH staffing review.
Livefeed News DeskUpdated · 4 min read
Quick answer
HSE chief executive Anne O'Connor said on Sunday that staff at Cork University Hospital are fearful of going to meetings in case they are recorded, and that people at the hospital are not working together effectively. She also rejected calls from senior clinicians for an independent review of staffing.
Key facts
- Anne O'Connor said CUH staff fear meetings may be recorded.
- CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney warned in August of a shortfall of about 1,000 staff.
- A tape showed HSE South West chief Andy Phillips cited the Taoiseach's office at a meeting with Kearney.
- O'Connor said CUH has more than 5,100 staff, 295 more than at the start of the year.
- Seventy patients waited on trolleys at CUH on Monday.
What O'Connor said
The head of Ireland's Health Service Executive says staff at Cork University Hospital (CUH) are afraid to go into meetings because they might be recorded. Anne O'Connor spoke on RTÉ's This Week programme on Sunday, her first public comments since the row over a taped conversation between the top HSE South West official and senior figures at the hospital.
"What worries me probably the most at the minute is the number of staff that I speak to in the hospital who are really very upset about what is going on, who are fearful of going to meetings because they fear they may be recorded," she said. That applied to staff inside the hospital and to people coming in from outside, she added.
"We have reached a point where people are just not working together effectively," O'Connor said, asking for "open and transparent conversations without the fear of being recorded". She suggested the August meeting at the centre of the controversy was recorded illegally.
How the row started
In August, CUH chief executive Jennifer Kearney wrote to senior HSE officials warning of a shortfall of about 1,000 staff, caused by recruitment restrictions and delays in approving posts. She asked for 172 posts to be prioritised before winter. The letter, which warned the hospital would not be safe going into winter, was leaked to the media.
At a meeting shortly afterwards, HSE South West regional executive officer Andy Phillips warned of possible "performance management" action, the Irish Examiner reported. Official minutes quoted him telling Kearney he had been instructed by the offices of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health "to have some very specific conversations with you".
Taoiseach Micheál Martin denied that he or his staff gave any such instruction, and told the Dáil that "false assertions were made about my office". A tape of the meeting, later obtained by The Irish Times, showed the minutes were accurate. RTÉ reported that this meant the Dáil had been misled. Phillips has apologised unreservedly and said he was not contacted by the Taoiseach's office.
O'Connor backs Phillips
O'Connor said she has confidence in Phillips. "I don't think anybody set out to mislead anybody. It did happen though and it shouldn't have happened," she said, putting his remarks down to frustration "in the heat of the moment".
"I have confidence in Andy but I'm very kind of mindful that we have an awful lot of work to do in CUH and in the region," she said, adding that she would monitor whether plans were being carried out. She also said Kearney had not asked to meet her.
"Regardless of who said what [and] when, a big concern for me is the fact that we seem to have a culture that is just not working that well down there [in CUH]," O'Connor said.
No independent staffing review
Senior clinicians at CUH have asked the Taoiseach for an independent assessment of staffing needs, and earlier this month nine clinical directors wrote to him about the issue. O'Connor rejected the idea: "To be honest, I don't think we need it."
She said CUH now has more than 5,100 staff, with 295 more since the start of the year, including 55 more doctors. "The challenge now is to ensure that we have the right staff in the right place at the right time," she said. Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has repeatedly said CUH has hired twice as many staff as were budgeted for.
Seventy patients waited on trolleys at CUH on Monday. O'Connor said patient safety is the single most important issue and that "all hospitals" face similar pressures. She argued that "CUH doesn't operate in a bubble" and that investment must also go into community services under Sláintecare.
Opposition calls for funded posts
Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane said he was concerned by the "very real patient safety risks highlighted by hospital management but also healthcare trade unions and staff". "The Government has to fund the priority posts that are necessary to ensure that we have safe staff in that hospital over the course of the next number of months," the Waterford TD said.
Frequently asked questions
What did the HSE chief say about Cork University Hospital?
Anne O'Connor said staff are fearful of going to meetings in case they are recorded, and that people at CUH are not working together effectively.
Why is Cork University Hospital in the news?
A leaked letter from CEO Jennifer Kearney warned of a shortfall of about 1,000 staff. A tape of a later meeting showed HSE South West chief Andy Phillips cited the Taoiseach's office, which the Taoiseach had denied.
Will there be an independent review of CUH staffing?
Not if the HSE chief decides. O'Connor said, "To be honest, I don't think we need it."
How many staff work at CUH?
O'Connor said the hospital has more than 5,100 staff, including 295 added since the start of the year.
Did Andy Phillips apologise?
Yes. Phillips apologised unreservedly and said he had not been contacted by the Taoiseach's office.
