Details of a major staffing shortage have emerged at Letterkenny University Hospital.
The exact extent of the shortfall was revealed in answers to questions posed by Councillors Ciaran Brogan and Gerry McMonagle at yesterday’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum.
Included among a total of 127 vacant posts is the need for an additional 55 nursing jobs which remain unfilled.
Other sectors of the hospital facing staffing shortages include maternity and paediatrics with 20 vacant posts, management admin with 10 vacant posts, dental and medical with 4, health and social care with 20 and dentistry with another 4 vacancies.
A number of panels have now been put in place to find suitable candidates for these positions.
In relation to the nursing shortage, the meeting was told that it is hoped to recruit 25 new nurses at the beginning of 2022.
A total of 45 nurses have left Letterkenny University Hospital from the end of 2020 to the end of October this year.
The figures also revealed that a further 89 nurses had been hired by the hospital since the end of 2020.
In total, 149 medical staff left the hospital since the end of 2020, the majority of whom left after their contracts had expired.
