Executive Team

Tracey Cooper, Chief Executive and acting Chief Inspector of Social Services

The Health Information and Quality Authority is led by Tracey who was appointed Chief Executive Officer in August 2006.

During her career, Tracey has worked in and advised on a variety of different health systems, served on a number of national task forces, worked closely with health improvement bodies in the UK and with the health and social care system in Northern Ireland.

She graduated from Southampton University Medical School in 1990, and subsequently held a number of posts in General Surgery and Accident & Emergency in England and Scotland. She was Locum Consultant in A&E in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital before leaving clinical practice, becoming more involved in national health reform and taking up a series of senior management posts in the NHS, including Director of Clinical Services for East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. She joined the NHS Clinical Governance Support Team in 2001 and became Deputy Head and Director of Operations in January 2004. Tracey is President for the International Society for Quality in Health Care.

Professor Jane Grimson FREng Director of Health Information and Deputy Chief Executive

Jane is Director of Health Information, which is a critical part of our work and the work of every healthcare professional in the country. The use of modern Information Technology and Communication in clinical care and administrative functions will drive improvements in quality and safety of care for service users and will support clinicians in delivering care. Better and faster information is the key to better decision making and planning.

Jane’s principal research interests are in electronic health records, biobanks, patient safety, and global health. She is past President of the Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, the Irish Academy of Engineering, and the Irish Computer Society.

Jane is Professor of Health Informatics at Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Máirín Ryan, Director of Health Technology Assessment

Máirín was appointed Director of Health Technology Assessment in September 2007. She and her team are responsible for conducting assessments of health technologies including drugs, devices, diagnostics and public health programs. The assessments help inform safe and effective health policy and health service decisions which are patient centred and deliver value. In addition the Directorate supports the development of HTA capacity and capability through the Irish health service and the incorporation of HTA methodologies into decision making.

Prior to this appointment, Máirín was the Chief 1 Pharmacist at the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and previously a senior clinical pharmacist at St James’s Hospital with responsibility for HIV clinical pharmacy services. She is a Lecturer in Pharmacoeconomics at Trinity College and is the principle investigator on the economic analysis of a number of trials of interventions in HIV and other poverty related diseases in Africa.

She holds a doctorate from Trinity College Dublin as well as postgraduate qualifications in Health Economics and Clinical Pharmacy.

Phelim Quinn, Director of Regulation

Phelim was appointed as Director of Regulation and Chief Inspector in HIQA on 1 November 2012. He has 30 years of experience in health and social care services in Northern Ireland, most recently in Northern Ireland's equivalent health and social care regulatory body - the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). In RQIA, Phelim was Director of Operations and Chief Nurse Advisor and more recently, Director of Regulation and Nursing. In his role he was responsible for the strategic development and execution of a full programme of regulation across adult and children's social care services including, nursing homes, residential care homes, day care services, domiciliary care services, residential children’s centres, residential family centres and voluntary adoption agencies. He also led the development of inspection methodologies to meet the increasing range of services which are subject to regulation.

During his time in RQIA, Phelim was responsible for the development of a full range of service, thematic and governance reviews and special investigations in statutory health and social care. These included reviews of child protection services, maternity services, sensory support services and the Northern Ireland Breast Screening Programme. He has led the successful merger of the functions from the former Mental Health Commission in Northern Ireland into RQIA in 2009.

He comes from a nursing background and is a qualified mental health, adult general and Health Visitor. Phelim held management posts in community nursing and was formerly the Chief Nurse in the Southern Health and Social Services Board, commissioning a full range of acute and community health and social care services in the southern board's area. He also worked in professional trade unions and as the lead commissioner for pre and post registration nurse education in Northern Ireland.
 

Marie Kehoe-O’Sullivan, Director of Safety and Quality Improvement

Marie was appointed Director of Safety and Quality Improvement in July 2012. She and her team are responsible for actively supporting and enabling a culture of patient safety and quality improvement across and within the health and social care system by helping to build capability and capacity in the people providing services. This will be done through the development of national standards and guidance in consultation with key stakeholders and the provision of training in quality improvement methodologies and tools. These initiatives will help the system to build a culture of continuous quality improvement and patient safety. This Directorate will also operate schemes aimed at ensuring safety and quality in the provision of services.

Marie has worked in the area of Healthcare Quality Improvement for many years in the USA and Ireland; her most recent appointment was as Regional General Manager for Quality and Patient Safety in the HSE where she led on a number of national projects.

A native of Killarney, Co. Kerry, Marie began training as a nurse at Ardkeen Hospital in Waterford before moving to the USA where she completed her Bachelor and Master Degrees in Nursing. She has also obtained her Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) from the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) in the USA.

Sean Angland, Head of Corporate Services

Sean is responsible for the corporate service function within the Health Information and Quality Authority and leads the development of a robust corporate services strategy to enable the Authority to effectively deliver on its mandate.

Sean has extensive experience in management of corporate services and finance particularly with public and voluntary sector organisations. From Newmarket, Co. Cork he worked in Britain for many years with organisations including The Prince’s Trust and the National Consumer Council. He moved back to Ireland as Finance Director of Cork 2005, which delivered the programme for the city’s tenure as European Capital of Culture. Most recently he worked with Iarnród Éireann in Dublin.

Sean is a graduate of UCC and is a certified accountant.

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement

Marty is responsible for leading the strategic and operational management of communications between the Health Information and Quality Authority, its staff, service-users and the public, providers of services and their staff, key national and international stakeholders, the media and Government.

A native of Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, he has many years experience working in communications, most recently as Communications Manager for the Irish Bank Officials Association. He has also worked as a communications consultant, providing strategic advice and developing media strategies for a range of clients in the private, voluntary and representative sectors. Prior to this he spent three years managing the Government Communications Unit in the Department of An Taoiseach.

Marty is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin.

Richard O'Sullivan, Legal Advisor

Richard was appointed Legal Advisor to the Authority in September 2010.  He is responsible for managing the delivery of timely and effective legal advice in relation to all aspects of the work of the Authority in a cost-efficient manner.  Richard is also involved in the development of the regulatory strategy and functions of the Authority.

Prior to this appointment, Richard was a Partner in a large and well-respected law firm in Cork.  He has previously acted as an in-house legal adviser to a large multi-national pharmaceutical company and as a solicitor in a large commercial law firm in Dublin.  Prior to this appointment, Richard also lectured with the Law Society of Ireland.

Richard is a qualified solicitor and a graduate in law from University College Dublin.  He also holds a postgraduate qualification in European Law and has extensive experience of regulatory, corporate and commercial law.

Kathleen Lombard, Board Secretary and Risk Manager

Kathleen's first involvement with the Authority was when she was seconded from the Department of Health and Children (DOHC) as Project Manager for the Interim Authority. In this role she supported the Board of the interim Authority and was primarily involved in establishing the necessary plans and structures to enable the establishment of the Authority proper. Formerly, she was an official of the DOHC and worked on Health Promotion Policy for several years, in particular the areas of alcohol policy, nutrition, sexual health and health literacy.

Kathleen is a graduate of UCC and has an M. Phil in Literature from Trinity.