Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The number of patients on trolleys in Cork University Hospital, CUH, this week alone has been in excess of 60 each day. All scientific evidence will show that the longer someone is on a trolley, the poorer the patient outcome. This is also the case when there is a shortage of nursing staff. There are 60 vacancies at present in CUH and the office of the HSE CEO, Paul Reid, has directed that no recruitment can continue without approval. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, is calling on the Minister to release the funding for the winter plan and to make funding available immediately for CUH in order that the vacant posts can be filled as soon as possible. There seems to be a difficulty in drawing down the €26 million for the winter plan and they have not received it yet. Is it possible for the Minister to contact Mr. Reid's office and make sure these 60 posts can be filled as soon as possible? It takes the pressure off the whole system.

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