{"id":632952,"date":"2026-10-17T00:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632952\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T00:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:48:18","slug":"people-are-getting-sick-from-the-worry-of-it-cape-clear-residents-frustrated-by-lack-of-local-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632952\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018People are getting sick from the worry of it\u2019: Cape Clear residents frustrated by lack of local healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman with spinal injuries living on Cape Clear summed up growing fear about gaps in nursing cover on the Gaeltacht island.<\/p>\n

The lack of healthcare options for inhabitants has become a burning issue on the picturesque island, located 13km off the Cork coastline.<\/p>\n

On a shop counter near the welcoming pier, an orange folder is stuffed with petitions for the HSE<\/a> and the health minister, demanding increased nursing cover.<\/p>\n

The shop is where the 50-minute ferry ride from Baltimore ends, and on a gusty October day, it is hard to imagine a sick person on board the boat.<\/p>\n

But with just one registered general nurse and no cover when she is ill or on leave, people often have little choice but to travel to the mainland for help.<\/p>\n

The island was without a nurse on 51% of days between January last year and August this year, according to data collected by the islanders.<\/p>\n

In July, there was no cover whatsoever, while only five days were covered in August.<\/p>\n

It has been approximately a year since a GP last came out to the island.<\/p>\n

Living with injuries<\/p>\n

Rita O\u2019Donoghue opened the door of her blue cottage with a neck brace on.<\/p>\n

Her life changed in late 2022 when she was hit by a car on a visit to Bantry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thrown about 40 feet in the air. When I hit the ground, it broke the neck, but then my shoulder dislocated, which saved the right-hand side of the neck,\u201d she said over tea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was crossing the road to get the early bus at 8.15am.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoanna had tickets bought for Westlife in Aberdeen, so at age 62, I broke my neck going to see Westlife. There\u2019s a song in there somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The driver was charged with dangerous driving, but Ms O\u2019 Donoghue was left with life-changing injuries.<\/p>\n

\"RitaRita O\u2019Donoghue is a full time resident of Cape Clear, and is recovering from a long-term injury.\u00a0Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be dealing with it forever. There is no \u2018get better\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

She attends Cork University Hospital for treatment, but also needs help closer to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need the nurse, even to check my blood pressure, and she can then tell the doctor. They would tell her what tablets to give,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her biggest fear is not recognising when something is seriously wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne time I waited three weeks for a GP appointment, the same as anybody here would,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When she was seen, the doctor spotted a serious issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe GP was in a flap. I didn\u2019t know it was urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rita no longer has a home help service either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can manage as I am. It\u2019s as urgent for everybody else as it is for me because if there\u2019s nobody on the island who can cater for you, you have this worry in your head all the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ageing fears grow<\/p>\n

Across the island, Patrick O\u2019Drisceoil, a fifth-generation islander, farms and works on the ferry but now worries about the risk of a fall, especially as winter storms worsen.<\/p>\n

Access to nurses has never been as limited in his lifetime, he explained, saying he raised a family here with the help of a public health nurse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat nurse could not leave until another nurse was in (for cover),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sometimes they crossed at the pier, but there was always a handover.<\/p>\n

Cape Clear is the only Gaeltacht island in Munster, and Patrick dips lyrically in and out of Irish and English.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no banaltra (nurse) this summer, and there were 14,000 visitors on the ferry alone, never mind day-trippers on ribs and the rest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of stress is in the island now. It is making people think, \u2018should we move to the mainland?\u2019 It\u2019s making them nervous. People are getting sick from the worry of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Full-timeFull-time Cape Clear resident Cecilia O\u2019Drisceoil said her approaching senior years would be less anxious with the return of a permanent resident nurse. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

His wife, Cecilia, arrived on the island as a young teacher in her 20s.<\/p>\n

Now retired, she praised the primary care service in Skibbereen but echoed her husband\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be cut off,\u201d she said bluntly.<\/p>\n

In very bad weather, neither the RNLI Lifeboat nor the Coastguard helicopter can help.<\/p>\n

An electricity outage also means the storm-gates in the harbour cannot be opened, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was much better in the early days. We had a permanent resident nurse, that\u2019s the big difference,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you approach your senior years, there are other anxieties that come into play then because none of us know what\u2019s ahead of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presence of a nurse on the island would be so reassuring. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong, we have an excellent nurse, but there\u2019s been a lot of gaps in the service, and nobody replaces her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The youngest islander<\/p>\n

Further along the road, a young family shares similar fears.<\/p>\n

Daith\u00ed Collis grew up in Bandon and visited the island often as a boy. He now lives here with Amelia DeCarteret, from Clare, and their 3-month old daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a secure place to live. It\u2019s a Gaeltacht, and it\u2019s a safe place to raise a child,\u201d Ms DeCarteret said.<\/p>\n

But she admitted that healthcare is \u201cquite tricky\u201d now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are not many families on the island with young children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the doctor appointments we had already are a bit awkward to get in and out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post-natal care in Skibbereen means taking the ferry to Baltimore and driving around 15km.<\/p>\n

\"IslandersIslanders Amelia DeCarteret and Daith\u00ed Collis with their three-month-old baby. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Mr Collis agreed: \u201cIf (our daughter) gets sick, that\u2019s the worry. You\u2019d think we would try to preserve our culture and keep unique places alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely, by not having a full-time health person here, that is not doing that in the slightest. It\u2019s a deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse \u201cneeds her time off too\u201d, he added, questioning why the HSE does not provide cover.<\/p>\n

Ms DeCarteret said: \u201cIf our daughter took a fall and needed a few stitches and the nurse is on holiday, there is nobody here.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what if we missed the first ferry? That means we are waiting all day to go to the mainland at 4pm. We might not make the doctors and then we have to go to Southdoc instead in Skibbereen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community first responders<\/p>\n

None of this is news to Marie Sheehan, who grew up on the island.<\/p>\n

She was living with her partner and their two children on the mainland when her mother became ill, too ill for her father to manage alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no home help available on the island,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had to step away from my teaching job and become her carer.\u201d<\/p>\n

She now lives part-time on Cape Clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re making it work, but you\u2019re weather-dependent, you\u2019re ferry-dependent, so it can be a juggling act, especially in the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is one of 11 first responders on the island, trained to assist people in a crisis while emergency services are on the way.<\/p>\n

It is a heavy responsibility. There were three sudden deaths on the island in the last 18 months.<\/p>\n

Jude Gilbert coordinates the first responder group and works with Comhar na nOile\u00e1n, a local development organisation for inhabited offshore islands.<\/p>\n

\"JudeJude Gilbert is the coordinator of the First Responders on the island. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

The emergency first responders are \u201cnot to replace the nurse\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d get a 999 call, it\u2019s mostly around cardiac response or trauma, or if somebody was hit in an accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be the backup for the nurse. Nursing cover is vital for an offshore island.\u201d<\/p>\n

The RNLI Lifeboat and Coastguard helicopters are \u201cabsolutely wonderful\u201d in emergencies, she stressed, but added: \u201cOur traditional contract with the HSE for nursing cover is 52 weeks a year, seven days a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re not getting that at the moment. There isn\u2019t a replacement for our wonderful nurse when she\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other islands<\/p>\n

The Irish Examiner met P\u00e1raic \u00d3 Coincheannain on the ferry. He is on the Comhlacht Forbartha Inis Me\u00e1in, the development committee for the island of Inis Me\u00e1in in Galway.<\/p>\n

That island has a population of around 180, slightly more than Cape Clear\u2019s 130.<\/p>\n

He said a GP comes out three times a week. They have a permanent nurse living there and cover for when she is away.<\/p>\n

He was shocked at the lack of support on Cape Clear, especially as it is such a busy tourist island.<\/p>\n

Niamh Ni Dhrisceoil \u2014 Cecilia and Patrick\u2019s daughter \u2014 was frustrated to learn recently about broader services on Tory Island in Donegal.<\/p>\n

\u201cTory would say they don\u2019t have a perfect system, but they have three nurses servicing them and a doctor flown out twice a month on a helicopter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"P\u00e1raicP\u00e1raic \u00d3 Concheann\u00e1in, who works with Comhlacht Forbartha Inis Me\u00e1in. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

She has raised this with politicians, saying: \u201cWhy should residents of one offshore Gaeltacht island have access to a level of healthcare provision that is so fundamentally different from that available to residents of another?\u201d<\/p>\n

As campaign spokeswoman, she said they have been \u201creally disappointed\u201d with the HSE and health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill\u2019s responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re being gaslit by the HSE,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very clear that they are not actively looking into what\u2019s happening here, and they\u2019re totally ignoring the documentation we\u2019ve sent them.\u201d<\/p>\n

They have called for a full-time public health nurse with reliable cover and regular GP visits, possibly supported by financial incentives or able to work on short-term contracts.<\/p>\n

Tourism concerns<\/p>\n

At the pier, An Siopa Beag is attached to a cafe where up to 500 meals are needed daily during the summer, according to owner Neil \u00d3 Riog\u00e1in.<\/p>\n

\u201cTourism is about 80% of my business, and having facilities here, services here for people who visit is important. The range is from babies to elderly people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen (the nurse) is not on the island, there\u2019s zero healthcare here for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He worries about seasonal workers too, saying: \u201cTo get them services, to get them seen to is a nightmare.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe the HSE most definitely took their eye off the ball on Cape, with the lack of service we have here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil \u00d3 Riog\u00e1in, owner of An Siopa Beag, has tourism concerns. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Another islander, Ed Harper, has been hospitalised in Bantry for about a month after a fall.<\/p>\n

A well-known goat-keeper, despite being blind, he shares her concerns.<\/p>\n

Still in recovery, he said by phone: \u201cI would be reluctant to go back (to the island) with no nurse cover\u201d.<\/p>\n

When he moved to the island over 30 years ago there was permanent cover and a monthly GP visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cA doctor would be nice because going to Skibbereen is a total drag, but the essential thing is the nurse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also worries about the influx of tourists, saying a nurse would be kept \u201cvery busy\u201d because \u201cyou get all sorts of people, of all ages, and doing all kinds of things\u201d.<\/p>\n

Political support<\/p>\n

The concerns have been raised politically, including by minister for the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary, independent TD Micheal Collins, and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns.<\/p>\n

Ms Cairns said: \u201cThe dangerous absence of full-time nursing cover on Cape Clear is putting residents at risk and threatening the sustainability of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has seen the campaign\u2019s data, but said: \u201cThe HSE, however, seems to be experiencing an entirely different reality than those on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA nursing resource allocation is meaningless unless it actually delivers services on the island.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Helipad landing spot on Cape Clear. The RNLI Lifeboat and Coastguard helicopters are \u201cabsolutely wonderful\u201d in emergencies, says Jude Gilbert, but adding that the island needs localised carePicture by Noel Sweeneyz<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot talk seriously about sustaining our island communities, encouraging young families to settle there, or enabling older people to remain living independently, while failing to provide the most basic healthcare services.\u201d<\/p>\n

She intends to raise the issue again with the health minister and called for \u201cimmediate measures\u201d.<\/p>\n

Support has also come from EU MEPs Billy Kelleher and Cynthia Ni Mhurichu.<\/p>\n

Department of Health and HSE position<\/p>\n

The Department of Health said it recognises the islanders\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeography should not be an unreasonable barrier to essential care,\u201d a spokesman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government\u2019s Our Living Islands policy commits to improving healthcare access on offshore islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department and the HSE are bringing in an allowance for nurses or midwives working on off-shore islands of \u20ac2,550 under the public service agreement 2024\u20132026.<\/p>\n

A virtual care programme is being rolled out across 12 offshore islands, including Cape Clear, with GP-led care and other services.<\/p>\n

He also said HSE Southwest provides a \u201cdedicated nursing service currently\u201d on the island.<\/p>\n

This is supported by arrangements with Skibbereen services, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe HSE will keep service provision on Cape Clear under ongoing review to ensure it continues to meet the assessed needs of the population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A HSE Southwest spokeswoman said on Friday its data indicates \u201c62% nursing cover for Cape Clear, Jan 2025 \u2013 Sep 2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said a nurse from Skibbereen goes to the island for critical or palliative care if the island nurse is on leave. Other requests are assessed on the basis of need. Funding was recently announced for a new emergency response vehicle for the island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A woman with spinal injuries living on Cape Clear summed up growing fear about gaps in nursing cover…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[35485,134,8284,527,36572,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-632952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-cork-news","tag-health","tag-health-news","tag-healthcare","tag-hse","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}