Mr Kenneth Mealy elected as new President of RCSI

Mr Kenneth Mealy is a Consultant General Surgeon with a special interest in gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, based at Wexford General Hospital. He is lead of the National Clinical Programme in Surgery and is Clinical Director of the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA).

Professor Ronan O’Connell, Emeritus Professor of Surgery UCD and Consultant Surgeon at St Vincent’s University Hospital has been elected as the new Vice-President.

Speaking on his appointment, Mr Mealy said: ‘I am greatly honoured to be elected President of RCSI and I look forward to leading the College over the next two years. Our 234 year heritage as a college of surgeons informs our approach in advancing healthcare. 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.’

 ‘RCSI is well positioned to address these challenges with its new National Clinical and Surgical Skills Centre at 26 York Street, which was officially opened by Mr Michael Bloomberg this week, and 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 both the technical and human skills they need to work in a complex and stressful healthcare environment.’

‘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. The development of hospitals dedicated to scheduled surgery and promotion of quality improvement in operating theatres will be pivotal in achieving the best outcomes for patients’.

 ‘I will continue the work, commenced in 2011 under my Chairmanship of the RCSI Committee for Surgical Affairs, of active engagement with our surgical Fellows and Members, both here and overseas, to build a strong, inclusive and relevant College’, Mr Mealy added.

 Mr Mealy completed his clinical and academic training in Ireland, the UK, 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, Mr Mealy has Chaired the Committee for Surgical Affairs, the Irish Surgical Postgraduate Training Committee and the Finance Committee. He has a long 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 (RAMI) 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 (NOCA) in 2012.