HCI Team
In order to fulfil our clients' service needs, Health Care Informed (HCI) brings together specific expertise in the areas of patient/client centred quality and safety systems.
The HCI Team brings specific diversity and synergies to the service that we provide. Our team members include:
John Sweeney, B.Sc. M.Sc.
Director
As Director of Health Care Informed John acts as the Team Leader in all areas of service provision. Originally with a background in Information Technology, prior to establishing Health Care Informed, John held the position of Director of Research and Development with the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board (IHSAB). In this role he had overall responsibility for the development of the Acute Care and Residential Care Accreditation Standards. This included the co-ordination of significant service user consultation.
Before this he was the Director of the Irish Society for Quality and Safety in Healthcare (ISQSH), where he instigated the National Patient Perception of Care Survey. He is an honorary lecturer of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and sits on the Advisory Committee of the European Forum for Quality in Healthcare.
Pamela Fagan, B.Sc. H.Dip.Q.H. M.P.M.
Director of Operations
As Director of Quality, Pamela is responsible for key areas of service provision including process improvement, policy and procedure development, and accreditation and certification. With a clinical background in the area of dietetics, Pamela has previously worked with the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board where she was responsible for the development of the quality and safety framework for palliative care. She has also been involved in systems development for hygiene in acute care, as well as standards development in residential care.
Oonagh Gilvarry, B.A. M.Sc.
Director of Regulation
The role of Director of Regulation focuses on regulatory compliance of the Quality and Safety Management system, specifically in the technical aspects of health care and the medical devices industry. Oonagh’s role provides cohesiveness to quality by incorporating regulatory requirements with effective implementation tools while ensuring a continued focus on the business’s application. Implementation of EU, FDA, ISO and Canadian QSR requirements form part of Oonagh’s extensive background in medical device system development and regulatory compliance.
Ciara O’Connor RGN. H.Dip Health Promotion. H.Dip Occ. H&S.
Director of Care Development
With a background in nursing, and health promotion, Ciara has worked within the Irish health system, and internationally, on the development of effective, and patient/client focused, care systems. Ciara has specific senior experience in acute, residential and disabilities services. This combined with a post graduate in occupational health ensures that HCI clients are provided with a service which assists in the fulfilment of their regulatory, as well as professional, responsibilities to patients and clients.
Clodagh Geraghty B.A., L.L.B., L.L.M.
Director of Research
All improvements must be evidence based. This can only be achieved through understanding the process and the experiences of those who have gone before. As such, research crosses all aspects of quality and safety improvement.
As Director of Research, Clodagh brings her experience of health services, including the area of human resources, together with her legal expertise, to bear on providing an effective and evidence based service to our clients. Clodagh continues to lecture extensively on the areas of healthcare law, information management and employment law.
Amy Collins, B.B.S., B.A., H.Dip.Q.H.
Quality and Safety Executive
As Quality and Safety Executive, Amy provides support in the development of specific quality and safety projects. With a background in information technology and social science, Amy has several years experience working in the acute care sector. In particular her areas of expertise include utilisation of information management systems in research and quality systems development.
Aiden Murphy B.Sc.
Quality and Safety Executive
As Quality and Safety Executive Aiden provides support in the development of specific quality and safety projects. With a background in information management and acute care, Aiden has several years experience working in the area of quality systems development. His particular areas of expertise include information management systems and process reengineering.
Máire Brookfield B.Sc.
Office Manager
As Office Manager, Máire is responsible for all first line client interaction and for ensuring that HCI’s customer care focuses on fulfilling our objectives of providing a quality value added service. Maire has a background in Information Systems and Management and has extensive experience in office and administration management.
Associates
Charles Shaw, Ph. D., N.B.B.S., F.F.P.H.M., F.H.S.M.
Charles has a particular interest in European and international healthcare systems, born of experience in many countries. He established the medical audit programme at the King's Fund and Department of Health in the 1980s. Charles helped to found the International Society for Quality in Healthcare, its European counterpart, the Quality Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine, and the UK Accreditation Forum. He has been commissioned to write guidance documents on quality improvement policy and methods for the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. Having contributed to new national accreditation programmes in the UK, France and South Africa, he is now involved with similar standards-based assessment programmes with ministries of health, currently in Bosnia, Cambodia, Syria and India.
Frances Smith R.G.N., B.Sc. M.Sc.
Frances was employed as Director of Nursing and Quality, Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, and latterly NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, which are specialist Health Boards established to develop quality assurance and improvement in clinical services in the NHS in Scotland. Prior to this Frances was Director of Quality for the Scottish Health Advisory Service (SHAS) which is an independent advisory and inspection body for Mental Health Learning and Physical disabilities and Older People Services in Scotland.
Kieran Ryan, B.Sc. (App), H.Dip. Q.I.H.
Currently Surgical Research Manager at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Kieran was previously Healthcare Practice Leader for Aon Insurance Brokers, where he supported the development of risk management and quality assurance programmes as well as conducting risk assessments and critical incident reviews and training for multiple areas of the Irish health system. He has worked for the global clinical research organisations ICON and Covance and held the position of clinical research manager with GlaxoSmithkline Ireland. He also held the appointment of Good Clinical Practice Inspector with the Irish Medicines Board. Kieran also held the role of Implementation Executive with the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board.
Frances Neilan R.G.N, R.P.N, B.Sc, H. Dip Mgt.
Frances has a strong background in clinical nursing and management in the acute care sector. She has a proven track record in project management both at a national and regional level in the public sector. This includes the implementation of the National Child Health Strategy 'Best Health for Children (1999)' in the HSE West. She has also worked as an Area Nurse Advisor with Abbott Pharmaceuticals.
With a particular interest in quality improvement and patient safety standards, Frances undertook the role of Project Manager with the team who successfully achieved accreditation in both the Galway Clinic and the Hermitage Clinic Hospitals. She is currently completing her Masters in Healthcare Management in Trinity College Dublin, where she is focusing on the area of healthcare accreditation.
