The HSE Says Additional Intern Jobs Created Due To The COVID Pandemic Were Never Intended To Be Made Permanent

20% of the Cork intern workforce is to be cut this year

The decision has beenmade not to offer the additional jobs to the 2021 cohort of interns.

Adrian Harmon has this report for RedFM News:

'5 Leeside hospitals are to be affected by the decision to the tune of 18 doctors, with questions being asked about the impact this will have on Cork's healthcare service, particularly in the midst of a global pandemic.

In a statement issued to RedFM News, the HSE says that as Ireland is coming out of the third wave of COVID here, the focus is on ensuring there is an appropriate number of staff to deal with the impact of COVID-19.

The HSE added that there will be planned investment in additional staffing, services and infrastructure in 2021.

To date, the HSE has have recruited almost 4,700 extra staff, including an extra 1,100 nurses.

They say the decision to revert the internship post count to 734 falls in line with what they believe will be necessary to deal with COVID in the coming months.'