Appointments/Re-appointments to the Medical Council - 6 June 2023

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has appointed/reappointed the following members to the Medical Council.

Dr Liqa ur Rehman is an International Medical Graduate (IMG) from Pakistan and has been working in Ireland since 2016 as a Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD) in Childhood Medicine (Pediatrics). He initially joined as a Senior House Officer and was promoted to Paediatric Registrar in 2018 and then Senior Paediatric Registrar in 2021.

He is also a Non-Scheme Trainee (NST) and is progressing his career in Paediatrics through the alternate training pathway. He has rotated eight different hospitals across the country so far and is currently working at The Coombe Hospital as a Neonatal Registrar.

He holds a primary degree in Medicine, (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)) from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore. He obtained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (MRCPI) in Childhood Medicine in 2018 and became a Collegiate Member of the Faculty of Paediatrics, Ireland in 2019. He also completed the European Board of Pediatrics Examination in 2021.

He is a strong advocate of NCHDs, especially IMGs. He has led multiple quality improvement projects at a local and national level to strengthen the Irish Health system and to train and retain experienced NCHDs in Ireland.

He is currently the President of Train Us For Ireland (TUFI) and Vice President of Association Of Irish Pakistani Physicians And Surgeons (AIPPS). He was also a member of the IMO NCHD Committee in 2020-2021. He set up TUFI in 2020 to advocate for positive career changes for NCHDs to prevent brain drain and help strengthen the Irish health system.

His recent campaign #FastAccessStamp4 has successfully established the world's best immigration pathway for IMGs that immediately benefitted nearly two thousand doctors. It will help them access equal training, prevent brain drain and provide their families with greater stability in Ireland.

Dr Rehman is nominated by election and his appointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028.

Mr. Nauman Nabi is a registered medical practitioner, currently working as a Consultant Urologist at University Hospital Limerick. He has experience as a Urologist in multiple European countries. He is multilingual, has great communication skills and can communicate in five different languages.

He holds the lead clinical role in his department with regard to education and training of junior trainees.

He is currently the President of Association of Irish Pakistani Physicians and Surgeons (AIPPS) which advocates for issues directly relating to career and training of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and provides them family and social support at a local level.

Mr Nabi is nominated by election and his appointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028.

Professor Murphy is Chair of Obstetrics / Consultant Obstetrician at Trinity College Dublin and the Coombe Hospital. She is a clinical academic with over 30 years’ experience in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Professor Murphy has formal training in healthcare leadership and has been an expert medical witness and independent assessor for over 20 years.

Professor Murphy is nominated by election and her appointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028.

Joan is the Quality and Risk Manager in the Health Information and Quality Authority. She has over 35 years’ experience working in the healthcare sector both in Ireland and overseas. Having qualified as a paediatric and general nurse, she worked in both the public and private sector as a registered nurse and ward manager. Having completed a Higher Diploma in Quality Healthcare and a Higher Diploma in Healthcare Risk Management, Joan spent six years working as a Clinical Risk and Claims Manager in two Dublin maternity hospitals before joining the Health Information and Quality Authority in 2009. During her time with HIQA Joan has held a number of roles including Programme Manager with responsibility for developing health and social care standards and Regional Manager with responsibility for the regulation of acute healthcare services before taking up her current role as Quality and Risk Manager in March 2020. Joan has a keen interest in corporate governance and risk management. She completed an MSc in Healthcare Ethics and Law in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and holds a certificate in Corporate Governance.

Joan is nominated by HIQA and her appointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028.

Sinéad has over 20 years’ experience working with a portfolio of leading Irish and international corporate and healthcare clients in delivering legal, strategic, commercial and transactional advice of the highest quality.

Sinéad qualified as a Solicitor with McCann FitzGerald LLP and was subsequently a Partner with RDJ LLP. Sinéad combines exceptional leadership, management and transactional skills with specialist expertise across a range of disciplines including strategy development and implementation, change management, risk management, corporate & commercial, M&A, medico-legal, external affairs and public relations.

Sinéad joined Bon Secours Health System, Ireland’s largest private hospital provider, in February 2020 as its Chief Legal, Corporate and External Affairs Officer and Company Secretary having acted as its lead external adviser for close to a decade. Sinéad oversees a diverse portfolio in Bon Secours Health System which includes responsibility for legal and risk management, corporate and external affairs and public relations. Sinéad is integral to delivery of a range of strategic initiatives and oversees the development of partnerships, acquisitions and joint ventures as part of implementation of Bon Secours Health System’s 2025 Strategic Plan. Sinéad holds a BCL (Hons) from UCC, is a practising Solicitor and is qualified to practise in Ireland and in England and Wales. Sinéad was also the recipient of the Findlater Scholarship awarded by the Law Society of Ireland.

Sinead is nominated by the PHA, and her appointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028.

Prof O’Connell is the immediate past-President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and Emeritus Professor of Surgery at University College Dublin. He retired as Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at St Vincent’s University Hospital in June 2019. He previously was Head of the Section of Surgery and Surgical Sciences at University College Dublin from 2007-2017 and consultant surgeon at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Dublin from 1990-2007.

Prof O’Connell graduated from Dublin University in 1979, trained in Dublin and Cork and completed specialist training in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, USA. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (1983) and holds honorary Fellowships of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (2001), the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2015), the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2019) and the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong (2019).

Prof O’Connell is a member of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, honorary fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (2015), past president (2013) and honorary member (2019) of the European Society of Coloproctology, elected member of the Society of Pelvic Surgeons and the International Surgical Group. He is an honorary fellow of the American Surgical Association (2015) and is an elected member and immediate past-President of the European Surgical Association. In 2022 he became the first international honorary member of the Japanese Society of Coloproctology.

Prof O’Connell has published widely in the areas of inflammatory bowel disease, pelvic floor physiology and colorectal cancer. His research has been recognised by numerous awards including the Patey Prize of the Surgical Research Society (1985), the British Journal of Surgery Prize at the Association of Coloproctology Great Britain and Ireland (1995, 1997, 1999, 2007), the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Research Prize (2007, 2010) and the Physiological Society (UK), (2009). He has held research grants from Science Foundation Ireland and the Health Research Board.

Prof O’Connell has been associate editor (1999-2002) and editor (2002-6) of the British Journal of Surgery. He was associate editor of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum (2001-2014) and is on the editorial board of several journals. He is joint editor of Bailey and Love’s Short Practice of Surgery (25th, 26th, 27th and 28th editions), Operative Surgery of the Colon, Rectum and Anus (6th edition) and the European Manual in Coloproctology (2008 and 2017 editions). He has served as Associate Editor (2007-2009) and Editor in Chief (2010-13) for the European Surgical Association.

Prof O’Connell has given numerous invited lectures including the Bacon Lecture to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (2003), the Holmstrom Lecture at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden (2004), the Rankin Lecture at the Cleveland Clinic, USA (2004), the Sir Peter Freyer Lecture (2007), the Sir Alan Parks’ Lecture at St Mark’s Hospital, London (2007), the Hughes Lecture to the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand (2007), the Robert Smith Lecture to ASGBI (2009), the Goligher Lecture to ACPGBI (2014), Conference Jean Denis to the Société Nationale Française de Colo-Proctologie (2017) and the GB Ong Lecture and Arthur Li Oration, Hong Kong (2019). He was the 2019 Hunterian Orator at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 2022 he delivered the Gimbernat Prize lecture to the Catalan Society of Surgery.

Professor O’Connell is Nominated by the RSCI, and his appointment is from 1st June 2023 to 31st May 2028.

Dr Mary Davoren is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital Dublin and Clinical Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin. Dr Davoren is nominated by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland.

This reappointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2028.

Professor O’Sullivan is a member of the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick. She served as Dean of the Faculty for two terms (2008-2014). As part of that role, she supported the development of the new Graduate Entry Medical School at UL, chaired the GEMS Advisory Committee and built partnerships with the University Hospital Limerick group. She has been a teacher educator for over 30 years teaching and researching in the United States and Canada before returning to Ireland. She served a term on the Irish Teaching Council (2016-2018) and chaired the Development Group of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment for the new Leaving Certification specification and Senior Cycle Framework for Physical Education. Professor O’Sullivan is nominated by the Minister for Education.

This reappointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2026.

John Murray practiced as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in mental health at Waterford Mental Health Service. John qualified as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in 1982 and went on to train as a Registered General Nurse at Waterford Regional Hospital. John worked as a staff nurse at Waterford Mental Health Services and in 1998 he began working as a Community Mental Health Nurse.

John has a Bsc. (Honours) in Nursing from Waterford Institute of Technology and a master’s degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.

John has facilitated many workshops and seminars throughout the country on best practice in relation to intramuscular injection and has a number of peer reviewed articles published, on the subject, and also on the implications for Nurses and Midwives of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011. John is the first Community Mental Health nurse to be elected as Vice-President of An Board Altranais. In March 2016, John was honoured to be appointed as an Honourary Teaching Associate with the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery RCSI.

During this tenure since 2018, John has Chaired Fitness to Practice Inquiries, Chaired and participated in Medical School/HEI inspections, Anatomy inspections, as a trained Assessor. He has served on the Ethics Committee, The Registration Appeals Committee, and the Preliminary Proceedings Committee.

In 2020 John was appointed to the Dental Council of Ireland, as a nominee of MCI.

This reappointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2026.

Dr Crowe graduated from Medicine in Trinity College Dublin in 1995. After considering surgical training Suzanne decided to pursue training in Anaesthesiology. Her training rotations took her to many different acute hospitals in Ireland. On achieving CCST in 2004, Suzanne went to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne for fellowship training in Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine.

In 2005 she took up a post in Tallaght Hospital as Consultant Anesthesiologist with a special interest in Children. After 9 years she moved post to Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, where she works as a Pediatric Intensivist.

She has postgraduate qualifications in medical law, bereavement studies, healthcare management and medicolegal medicine. She has academic appointments in TCD as a Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics and Associate Professor in UCD School of Medicine.

Her academic and clinical interests include organ donation and bereavement support. Suzanne was elected to the Medical Council in 2018 and became President of the Council in 2021.

This reappointment is from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2026.