Meet Our Speakers

Professor Silvia Bressan, MD, PhD, is a paediatric emergency physician and Associate Professor at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at the University of Padova. Currently serving as the Chair of the Paediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN), Dr. Bressan is deeply passionate about advancing the field through her commitment to research and education. Her dedication to enhancing paediatric emergency medicine globally is evident in her multifaceted contributions.

Having completed her paediatrics training in Italy, Dr. Bressan further specialized in paediatric emergency medicine, undertaking training in Israel and Australia. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a keen focus on various research areas, including head injury, concussion, fever, bronchiolitis, and, more recently, simulation. Her commitment to expanding the knowledge base in paediatric emergency medicine is underscored by her active involvement in international studies and her contributions to numerous peer-reviewed articles.

In addition to her research endeavours, Dr. Bressan is deeply engaged in education at local, national, and international levels, with a particular emphasis on paediatric procedural sedation and analgesia, as well as high-fidelity simulation.

Becky Platt is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Paediatric A&E at the Royal London, an executive member of the Don’t Forget the Bubbles team and a senior lecturer on the PEM MSc at QMUL. Becky has deployed to several disease outbreaks as part of the UK Emergency Medical team and was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2021 for her overseas humanitarian work.

Becky is passionate about humanity in healthcare, putting patients first, and caring for staff. She regularly hosts debrief sessions after clinical incidents and is committed to facilitating individual, team and organisational learning from events, as well as supporting staff after challenging situations. She is a committed educator and loves teaching in a variety of ways. She delivers online and face-to-face training and talks to global audiences on a range of clinical and non-clinical topics.

Turlough graduated from UCD in 1997. He undertook Paediatric training and General Practice training in Ireland. He was appointed as a full time Paediatric Emergency Medicine consultant to Tallaght University Hospital in February 2010. He has been Clinical Director in Tallaght and President of the Irish Paediatric Association 2017-2019

Conor is the President of the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University College Cork and Clinical Director, Emergency and Acute Care working at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

He also holds the following roles:

• Clinical Lead for the South Trauma Network
• Clinical Lead for National Office of Clinical Audit’s (NOCA) Major Trauma Audit in Ireland
• Examiner for the Royal College of Emergency Medicine
• Associate Adjunct Professor at the School of Primary Care, Monash University, Australia.
• Deputy Medical Director of the National Ambulance Service from 2014 – 2020

Rasha Sawaya is currently a PEM consultant at Children’s Health Ireland, Dublin and Founding Chair of the Irish Paediatric Emergency Medicine Association. She is American board certified in Paediatrics and Paediatric Emergency Medicine and has worked in different countries and settings from the US to Lebanon before moving to Ireland in 2021. Her interests lie in PEM education and operations continuously learning from the different systems she has worked in.

Markus graduated from medical school at the University of Würzburg in Germany and did most of his paediatric training in and around Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. From 2005 onwards, he worked as a consultant paediatrician in North Wales. He developed an interest in clinical informatics early on as a consultant and became the first Chief Clinical Information Officer for North Wales in 2017 until taking up his current position as Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) for CHI in September 2021. He was part of the second cohort at the NHS Digital Academy in 2019-20 finishing with a postgraduate diploma in digital health leadership. As the CMIO for CHI he is a member of the only CxIO team in Ireland representing all clinical areas. He has a particular interest in evidence based clinical informatics.

One of the National Paediatric Retrieval Coordinator, seconded from OLCHC since Sept 2021. I has extensive experience in Paediatric Intensive Care, having worked in PICU CHI Crumlin from 2000 to 2021. Roles within PICU include Staff Nurse, CNM 2 Shift leader for 13yrs, a member of the IPATS nursing team, CNM 3 for 2yrs. I still maintains some clinical shifts in PICU.

As part of the IPATS Coordinators role we provide education to our new staff and lead an outreach education and training programme to regional hospitals. The aim of this programme is to support local teams with the safe preparation and transfer of paediatric patients from tertiary ICU to CHI Temple St /Crumlin PICU, outside of IPATS operational hours. Also supporting national standardisation of processes, procedures and documentation for use within the transport. 

Dr Karl Kavanagh is a Fellow in Paediatric Emergency Medicine in CHI. His particular interests include Trauma, Toxicology, Education, and Dad jokes.

Dr Freya Guinness graduated from TCD in 2017 and has since spent her time working in Paediatrics in Ireland & London. She is currently a Paediatric SpR who plans to pursue a career in PEM. Freya is a bursary-recipient and ambassador for the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Paediatric Critical Care in King’s College London. She also has a PgDip in Healthcare Simulation & Patient Safety from NUIG.

In 2016/2017 she was Chairperson of StreetDoctors Ireland, a charity which provides life-saving first aid to young people most at risk of youth violence. Her special interests include trauma & medical education. Freya is the IPEM24 Communications & Social Media Officer.

Dr Lucy Whiston is a Research Fellow in the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health in DCU. As Programme Manager for the PPI Ignite Network at DCU Dr Whiston co-leads work package 1, focused on building capacity for PPI across communities, while supporting all members of research teams across DCU in developing and implementing PPI. Dr Whiston facilitates the PPI Ignite Network at DCU shared learning group for PPI with children and young people and the organising committee for a recent workshop leading to the co-design and co-development of a resource for ethical collaboration with children and young people in research. Dr Whiston’s background is in social policy. She has a Masters in Applied Social Research. Her PhD, funded by the Irish Research Council and the Adelaide Health Foundation and completed in Trinity College, Dublin, was on patient and family participation in health care design and delivery. She has training and experience in a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Other areas of interest include health policy and health services research, particularly chronic disease management and addiction.

Consultant in Child Psychiatry, Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin.

Rory is consultant and clinical lead in EM and PEM at CUH.

Dr Ngozi O Oketah (FRCPCH, FFPAED, MPH, DCH, MBBS) Is a Consultant in General paediatrics and Adolescent medicine at Children’s Health Ireland Crumlin & Connolly Hospitals, Dublin

Ngozi completed medical school in Nigeria and moved to Ireland where she completed paediatric BST & HST training with the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland (RCPI) with her final year in mental health. She subsequently completed a one year fellow post at the University College London Hospital department of adolescent Medicine.

She has served on the mental health committee of the Society of Adolescent health and medicine (SAHM) in the last 4 years, the steering committee of the Young people’s health Special Interest group (YPHSIG) UK and is a co-chair of the newly launched Adolescent Medicine network in Ireland. She has recently been appointed the global director for International Adolescent health week (IAHW) by the International association of adolescent health (IAAH)

Ngozi is a fellow of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child health, United Kingdom (RCPCH) and a fellow of the faculty of paediatrics of the Royal College of paediatrics, Ireland (RCPI). Her clinical interests include prevention and early detection of mental health problems in children and young people including eating disorders; holistic management of adolescents with complex health needs, functional disorders, chronic pain & fatigue. She also has interests in medical education and quality improvement.

Ben is a PEM consultant in CHI Temple St and RBHSC Belfast. He has fellowships in PEM from Toronto, Melbourne and Belfast, and a MSc in Tropical Medicine and International health from LSHTM.

His expertise in paediatric emergency medicine was developed in Ireland then Australia before returning to Ireland as a Consultant in Dublin. He has held key governance roles, including Chair of the National Paediatric Mortality Register, NOCA, and actively engages in national and international paediatric clinical research initiatives. His focus is on the effective  translation of evidence based practice into clinical practice.

Dr Ike Okafor MBBS; PgDip; MSc; MRCPI; FPaeds; FFSEM

Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine: CHI

Clinical Associate Professor: UCD

Clinical Senior Lecturer: RCSI

Clinical Director: Children’s Health Ireland

Sandy Hopper is a dual qualified Emergency Physician and Emergency Paediatrician, working at the Emergency Department of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Having just clocked over 20 years of consultant work at RCH, he has just stepped down as director of paediatric emergency training although he is still passionate about bringing up the next generation of talent in the field. His research interests are eclectic, covering Mental Health, procedural care, orthopaedics, hospital-in-the-home, observational medicine and consumer information.

Professor Jean O’ Sullivan is currently a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Tallaght University Hospital and a senior lecturer at Trinity College Dublin. In 2008 Professor O’ Sullivan founded an international organisation, Global Emergency Care Skills ( www.globalemergencycareskills.ie ) which has provided skills based training in trauma care to over 600 healthcare staff  in African hospitals. In 2021 Professor O’Sullivan was awarded the William Rutherford Humanitarian Award by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine London for her work.

Prof O’Sullivan is the Chair of the United Nations Global Surgery Learning Hub content committee. Prof O’Sullivan is also Vice Chair of the Global Health committee of the Forum of Postgraduate Training Bodies. 

Elaine has been an employee of CHI for 20 years. She is a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner who has specialised in Children’s Emergency Care and is working in the CHI ED at Temple St since 2005. She is also a certified AHA instructor who provides Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) training both nationally and internationally.#

Elaine has a huge passion for Global Health work and is the nurse lead on the CHI Global steering committee. She has had the privilege of traveling to Uganda on many occasions over the past 18 years as a volunteer for NGO-Nurture Africa, now a formal partner of CHI global, which focuses on health services, educational support and economic empowerment through business training and micro-finance projects. Elaine was a co-founder of the NGO’s HIV community-based program in 2006, which now sees hundreds of children and their families receive necessary treatment to allow them lead positive, healthy, and productive lives. Over the years Elaine also worked as a volunteer coordinator for Nurture Africa, welcoming and supporting hundreds of Irish health care professional in having a positive and productive volunteer placement in Uganda.

Dr. Jeffrey Mulcaire is a Specialist Registrar in Emergency Medicine in Cork University Hospital with a special interest in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Global Health, Expedition Medicine and Research. Jeffrey has assisted in delivering medical training to doctors, nurses, house officers and paramedics in Zambia and Kenya with the Irish Charity Global Emergency Care Skills. Jeffrey has also acted as medical lead for expeditions in Salkantay Peru, Kilimanjaro Tanzania and Everest Base Camp Nepal. Jeffrey is the current national lead for the Irish Trainee Emergency Research Network and is currently undertaking a Masters in Public Health and Global Health at King’s College London.

Aoibhinn is a Consultant Paediatrician with a special interest in Inclusion Health. She is the principal investigator and lead clinical researcher of the Lynn Clinic which looks at inclusive healthcare delivery to Paediatric populations experiencing social adversity e.g., children who are homeless, refugees and international protection applicants, and ethnic minorities who experience difficulty with engaging with healthcare services.

Aoibhinn has always had an interest in healthcare delivery to marginalised children which was strengthened when she went overseas with Médecins Sans Frontières to work as an expatriate Paediatrician. Her current clinical focus is on the establishment and future planning of a Paediatric Inclusion Health service within Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) and the HSE to formalise care pathways for children at risk of social exclusion with a strong focus on a robust system of care between hospital and community health and social care practitioners. She has recently completed Ireland’s first Clinical Fellowship in Paediatric Inclusion Health and is a member of the Children’s Health Ireland Global Health steering group.

PEM Consultant, Children’s Health Ireland, @danihalltweets

Dani Hall is a PEM consultant in Children’s Health Ireland, senior lecturer on the Don’t Forget The Bubbles (DFTB) and Queen Mary University of London PEM MSc and executive director of DFTB. She is passionate about advocating for children and young children.

Dr Vicky Meighan is a consultant in Emergency Medicine & ICEMT Point of care Ultrasound lead. She has  specialist interests in Trauma, Ultrasound & Simulation based medical education (MSc) and in particular interprofessional team training across specialties, disciplines and grades & quality improvement using sbme. She is a national sbme trainer at RCSI & COAI. Most recently, she trained the Trinity University Medical student Team winners of the student simwars.

Dr Thomas Waterfield is a Clinical Academic at the Queen’s University Belfast and honorary Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. He specialises in sepsis, paediatric infection and clinical trials and is the current Vice-Chair of PERUKI. Details of current projects and publications can be accessed at https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/tom-waterfield

Emer Coyne is a Senior Social Work Practitioner at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin. Emer is a graduate of the Masters in Social Work Programme in University College Dublin, 2009 and a graduate of the Professional Certificate in Children in Loss with the RCSI and Irish Hospice Foundation. Emer is a practice teacher and assessor with the School of Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin. Emer has 14 years of professional experience with a significant portion within Child Protection Services and the Paediatric Emergency Department, CHI at Crumlin.

Sonya is a Partner in our Health & Prosecutions team and has been with MHC LLP for over 10 years. During that time, Sonya has developed particular experience in child protection law, acting for a number of public bodies including TUSLA and HSE at District, Circuit and High Court level. Sonya is a skilled advocate who represents social workers and their teams in Court on a day to day basis. Before she qualified as a Solicitor, Sonya practiced as a social worker in the area of child protection and welfare for 6 years. She has used this experience to develop a unique understanding of the legal framework for proceedings to place children in state care with a particular focus on the balance of parental and children’s rights. Sonya has also developed a unique model of legal training for those working in child protection and related areas, which can be tailored for different professionals, with focus on case examples and preparation for court proceedings.

Emma is a French-Canadian paediatrician and paediatric emergency medicine consultant. After obtaining her specialist qualifications in Canada in 2015, she moved to Melbourne for further training in paediatric emergency medicine and paediatric pain management at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Her research has focused on sedation and analgesia in paediatric trauma. Emma is currently working as a paediatric emergency medicine consultant at Cork University Hospital. She is part of the IPEM executive committee and IPEM 2024 organising committee.

Kim Price currently works as the Clinical Nurse Manager 3 in the Emergency Department at CHI Temple Street. She has nineteen years’ experience working in adult, mixed and paediatric Emergency Departments in Ireland and Melbourne, Australia. Kim holds post graduate qualifications in paediatric and emergency nursing. She also completed her Master of Advanced Nursing Practice through research at the University of Melbourne in 2019. She has a keen interest in clinical education and quality assurance, with the aim of supporting emergency teams to deliver excellent care to patients and families.

MB BCh BAO FRACP MRCPI

Dr Caroline Fox is a consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine in Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street. Dr Fox graduated from UCD in 2012. She completed a fellowship in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in 2021. She worked as a PEM physician at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and was a lecturer at Macquarie University Medical School prior to her appointment at CHI. Dr Fox is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Dr Fox is interested in medical education, simulation and paediatric trauma. She has a postgraduate certificate in medical education from the University of Warwick. She is also interested in global health and is an educator with “Taking Paediatrics abroad”. In this role she has travelled to Vietnam National Children’s Hospital and provides lectures and clinical support virtually to Cambodian paediatricians.

Conor is an adult and paediatric emergency physician with fellowships in critical care, retrieval  and paediatric retrieval medicine. He spends his time working between Temple Street and the iPATS services