New Director revealed

Dr Áine Carroll

By Gary Culliton.

Dr Áine Carroll has been chosen as the new National Director of Clinical Strategy and Programmes, Irish Medical Times has learned.

“It has been a difficult year for the HSE but it is my firm belief that by maximising our opportunities and improving cost effectiveness, we can improve the quality of care we deliver to all users of HSE services,” said Dr Carroll, whose appointment has been ratified by the Board of the HSE. She will replace Dr Barry White, who is stepping down from the position.

“We almost use the complexity of healthcare as an excuse as to why things don’t happen,” Dr Carroll told IMT. “To effect change — either at an individual or at a local level — everybody from Healthcare Assistants up to the Chairman of the Board needs to understand the basic principles of quality improvement. It is important to cut back and keep things as simple as possible. The key is to clarify the overall aim and then break it down into smaller steps and then you need to have a plan as to how those little steps are to proceed.”

Prior to her appointment, Dr Carroll was the Clinical Lead of the Rehabilitation Medicine Programme. Her new role as National Director will be to improve and standardise patient care throughout the HSE.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Dr Carroll is a consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine and the immediate past Chair of the Medical Board of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

gary.culliton@imt.ie