Wexford consultant elected president of the Royal College of Surgeons
The well-known Wexford General Hospital consultant Kenneth Mealy is the new President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Mr. Mealy, a consultant gastrointestinal surgeon in Wexford for the past 20 years, took up office following the college’s recent biennial Council elections, replacing the outgoing President, Professor John Hyland. He is also Lead of the National Clinical Programme in Surgery and is Clinical Director of the National Office of Clinical Audit.
The Wexford consultant said he was ‘ greatly honoured’ to be elected President of old Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and is looking forward to leading the 234-year old institution over the next two years.
’Our healthcare system has many competing pressures and demands and in my view, RCSI has a responsibility to advocate for the development of excellent surgical services that are sustainable within this increasingly complex health environment’, he said.
Mr. Mealy said he believes the RCSI is well positioned to address these challenges with its new National Clinical and Surgical Skills Centre in York Street, Dublin which is the most advanced clinical simulation facility in Europe.
‘ These facilities, coupled with RCSI’s talented faculty, will equip our students and post-graduate professional trainees with the technical and human skills they need to work in a complex and stressful healthcare environment’ said the new President.
‘RCSI will continue to be a key driver in the delivery of a truly patient-centred service, as it continues to work with the HSE and Department of Health’, he said.
‘ The development of hospitals dedicated to scheduled surgery and the promotion of quality improvement in operating theatres will be pivotal in achieving the best outcomes for patients.’
Mr. Mealy said he will continue the work, started by him in 2011 as chairman of the RCSI Committee for Surgical Affairs, of actively engaging with surgical Fellows and members, in Ireland and overseas, to build a strong, inclusive and relevant college.
Mr Mealy completed his own clinical and academic training in Ireland, the UK, at the Harvard Medical School, Boston and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was appointed a Consultant Gastrointestinal Surgeon at Wexford General Hospital in 1998.
Since his election to the Council of RCSI in 2008, he has Chaired the Committee for Surgical Affairs, the Irish Surgical Postgraduate Training Committee and the Finance Committee.
He has a longstanding interest in surgical training and held the post of Chair of the Dublin Region Basic Surgical Training Committee and Chair of the National Basic Surgical Training Programme. He also held the position of President of the Surgical Section of The Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland from 2008 – 2010. He was appointed Joint Lead for the National Clinical Programme in Surgery in 2010 and Medical Director of the National Office of Clinical Audit in 2012.