Kilkenny TD seeks answers as St Luke’s short staffed

Local TD Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere is seeking urgent resourcing for St Luke’s Hospital after Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill admitted it is a ‘struggle’ to fill medical and nursing roles currently left vacant.

Responding to a question from Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere in the Dáil, Minister MacNeill said Deputy Cleere was right to highlight the issue: “It is not through lack of trying. We have increased our numbers in the healthcare system very considerably but we have the funding and wish to do more,” she said.

“A very significant capital programme is going into this hospital, as the Deputy is aware, including the CT upgrade, the dolmen wing, the 86-bed accommodation block, a better outpatient department, the acute floor extension, and ancillary services such as the car park,” she added.

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“I will continue to work on it but we struggle to recruit, even though we have these funded positions.”

A total of 207 posts (whole time equivalent) remain vacant at the local hospital with waiting lists, bed accommodation numbers, A&E overcrowding and lengthy waiting times becoming an ongoing issue.

Meanwhile, among the hospital’s concerns are the ever-increasing demands in the Paediatric Unit with staff shortages meaning care in that department as well as 'Same Day Emergency Care’ (SDEC) has been severley negatively impacted due to staff shortages.