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Cork anaesthesiologist
TRAVELS BACK
TO ETHIOPIA
Eugene Egan, an anaesthesiologist from
Co Cork, volunteered in Ethiopia for five
weeks with VSO Ireland, the international
development organisation
that fights poverty through
volunteers. Eugene used his
skills and experience as an
anaesthesiologist to develop
and provide capacity building
training for local anaesthetists
in the Tigray region.
It was Eugene’s fourth volunteer
placement with VSO Ireland and
he was eager to return to Ethiopia.
“I acted as a facilitator for a training
programme which will extend from Mekelle
University to the emergency hospitals on
the periphery of the Tigray region. We have
a situation where the major problems are
being faced by healthcare workers who are
least equipped to deal with them so I was
involved in building capacity for local health
professionals to bridge that gap. VSO’s
philosophy of putting people at the centre
graduation celebrations
of development is in line with my own which
is why I have volunteered with them several
times.” The knowledge and skills that
Eugene was able to share with local
anaesthetists, through onsite
mentoring and coaching, will
vastly improve the quality of
service given to patients in
different hospitals throughout
the region.
Megan Munsell, Executive
Director of VSO Ireland, said: “We
are delighted that Eugene undertook his
fourth placement with VSO Ireland. Ethiopia
is a very important programme country for
VSO Ireland and, thanks to Irish Aid funding,
VSO has been operating a very successful
Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH)
project there. Ethiopia has one of the highest
rates of maternal and neonatal mortality
in Africa and, through the training he will
provide to local health professionals, Eugene
played a key role in improving the lives of
many vulnerable people.”
Children First
Watch out for the next edition
of the magazine this summer
when we will feature the
implementation of Children
First and information on the
Children First Act. As HSE
staff, we all have a role in ensuring
that children are protected. The HSE has
a full implementation programme including
guidelines for all staff and a Children
First online training module to support the
Children First programme. Our new online
resource contains a wealth of information
and is going live in March. Watch out for
the information bulletins and take the opportunity
to learn how YOU can protect and
support children who use HSE services – we
all have a part to play.
Good news for
orthodontics in
the north east
Orthodontics seems to always attract
bad headlines in the press due to long waiting
lists. For once we have two good news
stories in the Dublin North East area.
Firstly, one of our dentists had graduated
from the University of Warwickshire with an
MSc in Orthodontics. After three long years
of study, Dr Ade Salawu graduates this year.
This course with Warwickshire involved a
clinical component in the Orthodontic Unit,
Louth County Hospital, Dundalk under the
surpervision of Dr Pat McSherry, Consultant
Orthodontist.
Another first for our orthodontic units in
the north east is the graduation of the first
two orthodontic therapists in the HSE. They
are Linda Flanagan and Lynn McCarty. After
gaining their diplomas in September, they
are now able to work in the HSE under the
supervision of a specialist orthodontist,
hopefully reducing waiting lists.
This is a first for the HSE and the country
and the north east area hopes to train more
therapists in the years to come.
Lynn McCarthy and Linda Flanagan pictured following their graduation with a diploma in orthodontic therapy.
Dr Ade Salawu pictured with the staff of the
Orthodontic Unit, LCH, Dundalk.
24 | health matters | spring 2016