Niamh Humphries

Volume 36 Issue Supplement_1 | European Journal of Public Health | Oxford Academic The official journal of the European Public Health Association. Publishes papers in public health from social medicine, epidemiology, health services research, management, ethics and law, health econo...

It’s part of an excellent special edition focused on the health workforce academic.oup.com/eurpub/issue...

‘Why wouldn’t I want to go?’: doctor migration, retention, return, and Ireland’s future medical workforce Abstract. Health workforce shortages pose a challenge to European health systems. Challenging working conditions in healthcare were intensified by the glob

Delighted to see this paper in print. It’s on doctor retention, doctor migration and the challenges of working in a health system under strain academic.oup.com/eurpub/artic... #DrRetention

Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks' estate over use of her 'stolen' cells to advance medicine Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and...

Justice sure took a long while…

apnews.com/article/henr...

The Epstein files document what many women researchers have long experienced but rarely seen laid bare so starkly: exclusion operating behind closed doors, shaping who gets funded, invited, mentored, and taken seriously. How many of these networks, norms, and gatekeepers remain in place?

Why generational differences are a distraction in your workplace The temptation to explain workplace challenges through generational narratives is understandable, but it may be misplaced

Most read on #RTEBrainstorm: why using generational differences to explain workplace challenges may be misplaced. By @marianchenry.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie @researchireland.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Cut in funding to HSE capital plan shows Government is not serious about building health service capacity - The Labour Party Cut in funding to HSE capital plan shows Government is not serious about building health service capacity - The Labour Party Stagnant funding and ambition in HSE capital plan with a €14 million cut in...

This is crazy- there’s a cut to HSE capital plan this year

Rising population, more complexity of care & yet less money going into hospital beds, equipment and IT

Dept of Health’s own bed plan says it needs to build 2,900 by 2031
But plans only 143 new beds this year 🙄

labour.ie/news/2026/02...

The Irish Times view on the north Kerry Camhs report: a vital lack of clinical resouces Many of the failings can be linked back, at least in part , to a lack of consultant psychiatrists

the north Kerry Camhs report: ‘there is still no full-time consultant psychiatrist for the county, which should have a compliment of four consultants. The gap is being met by “input” from consultants from other regions’

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/edit...

What can be done to improve shambolic mental health service for younger people in Kerry? It is somehow ironic that the services have succeeded in substantially reducing the use of physical restraint, yet the entire system continues under this restraining governance model

What can be done to improve shambolic mental health service for younger people in Kerry?

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Review finds 209 children at risk of potential harm in north Kerry mental health services

Irish medics working in Australia Ireland trains them, Australia recruits them. At a time when thousands of posts remain vacant across the HSE, increasing numbers of Irish doctors and nurses are choosing to work down under. Our report...

Good to see a focus on health worker emigration to Australia today on @rteradio1.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Why are only 12% of radiographers satisfied with their jobs? High workload and under-appreciation are driving burnout, which may explain why over 300,000 Irish patients are currently waiting for diagnostic scans

Why are only 12% of radiographers satisfied with their jobs? High workload and under-appreciation are driving burnout, which may explain why over 300,000 Irish patients are currently waiting for diagnostic scans, writes Mark McEntee @ucc.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Opinion: Ireland doesn’t learn from infrastructure failures. We repeat them Ireland’s children deserve a world-class hospital. Instead, they’re getting a €2.2 billion building paired with a €362 million digital gamble managed by an organisation that can’t ensure doctors recei...

On CHI: 'The HSE will oversee implementation of Ireland’s most ambitious healthcare IT project at an organisation it is simultaneously integrating, while attempting to move into a building that doesn’t exist. This is governance architecture designed for failure'
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

The workplace wasn’t designed for humans – and it shows Burnout isn’t a personal failure. It’s a design flaw. But there is another way.

Burnout isn’t a personal failure. It’s a design flaw. But there is another way.

'Workforce investment is framed primarily in instrumental terms (e.g., enhancing productivity, enabling reform delivery, and relieving system pressures) rather than as a form of social investment grounded in agency, dignity and meaningful work'.

Ireland's Future Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy: Technical Maturity, Unfinished Agenda Click on the article title to read more.

Great piece on Ireland's future health and social care workforce strategy by @jimc-hrh.bsky.social and @tiagocorreia.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Stairway to nowhere: What the €500,000 steps really tell us about how Ireland makes decisions Dr Paul Davis outlines how Ireland’s procurement culture turns minor projects into major costs.

"If half a million euro can disappear quietly into steps and walls without triggering a serious pause, what happens when the same habits govern housing developments, hospital corridors, transport interchanges, or school refurbishments?"
www.thejournal.ie/readme/publi...

@eidin.bsky.social

Dr Niamh Humphries, Dr Éidín Ní Shé, and Dr Holly Hanlon outline the latest data from the GP retention project

https://bit.ly/3ZAWal1

@ICGPnews @RCSI_Irl @IMO_IRL @Slaintecare @NDTP_HSE @HDRM_Project @IMO_IRL #gp #primarycare #generalpractice

Changing Working Patterns in Irish general practice: Findings from a Qualitative Remote Ethnographic Study General practice in Ireland has changed significantly with increased participation of women in the workforce; a move from single-handed to group pract…

link to the full paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @eidin.bsky.social @laucullen.bsky.social

Changing GP work patterns and the implications for medical workforce planning - Medical Independent Dr Niamh Humphries, Dr Éidín Ní Shé, and Dr Holly Hanlon outline the latest data from the GP retention project. Health workforce planning...

Delighted to see our findings from the GP Retention Project in the @medindonews.bsky.social www.medicalindependent.ie/comment/opin... #DrRetention

Trinity researcher told ‘associate professor’ title is purely honorary Man on €98,000 salary fails in Labour Court bid to secure annual pay rises

Trinity researcher told ‘associate professor’ title is purely honorary #loveirishresearch

www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

‘I’m sorry’: hospital boss wishes he’d stopped rogue surgeon sooner Matthew Shaw, who is leaving Great Ormond Street Hospital, apologised to families as a report will show Yaser Jabbar harmed 27 per cent of children he operated on

🚨 Exclusive: A dangerous surgeon at @GreatOrmondSt harmed more than a quarter of the children he operated on, a new report is expected to say this week.

Now the trust chief tells @thetimes he is "deeply sorry" but there is no evidence of cover-up... www.thetimes.com/article/352e...

Emotions, leadership, and the future of care | The King’s Fund What happens when leaders face organisational anxiety head on? Explore how emotional honesty and reflection can help leaders navigate complexity and change.

What happens when leaders face organisational anxiety head on? Our blog explores how emotional honesty and shared reflection can help leaders navigate complexity and change.
Read more: https://bit.ly/4qSYPCr

Great letter in @irishtimes.com by Dr Chris Luke about NCHDs. It details the ‘traditional sources of frustration and humiliation’ NCHDs face daily in the Irish health system. This way of working does not encourage #DrRetention

Two-thirds of healthcare workers ‘actively’ considering leaving role, study finds Think tank’s report highlights ‘growing retention crisis’ in sector

Two-thirds of healthcare workers ‘actively’ considering leaving role, TASC study finds

www.irishtimes.com/health/2026/...

Waiting lists up by 86,300 patients in 2025, figures show National hospital waiting lists increased by over 86,300 patients in the last year, new figures reveal.

www.rte.ie/news/health/...

'Too often, the focus on NHS staff retention has been based on incomplete evidence about why staff have left, rather than why they stay.' Prof James Buchan, Senior Visiting Fellow, REAL Centre at the Health Foundation

A key moment in 2026 will be the publication of a new long-term workforce plan for the NHS. In this new blog, James Buchan looks at the central role improving NHS staff retention must play in delivering on the government’s ambitions for the NHS.

Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4swThyY

Cork and Galway hospitals have ‘persistent’ overcrowding issue, says Minister Hospital system coped better than initially modelled during the peak of flu on Christmas week

‘A total of 75 patients were waiting more than 24 hours, of whom 14 were 75 years or older’
www.irishtimes.com/health/2026/...

Overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick a serious issue 45 years ago Special report highlighted patient deaths and issues with ‘bed-blocking’

Overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick a serious issue 45 years ago

www.irishtimes.com/history/2025...

‘The NHS would collapse within hours’: BME staff say Britain fails to appreciate their roles Long-serving workers say they faced racism as they helped build health service – but it ‘seems things have got worse’

‘The NHS would collapse within hours’: BME staff say Britain fails to appreciate their roles