Pictured at the inaugural meeting of the new board of UL Hospitals Group on January 19th were, back row, left to right: Jim Canny, Graham Knowles, Michael Mulcahy SC; and, seated: Dr Mary Gray, Prof Niall O'Higgins (chair) and Alec Gabett.

New board of UL Hospitals Group holds inaugural meeting

Published: Sun 5 Feb 2017, 9:00 AM

Minister for Health Simon Harris has announced the appointment of a new board for UL Hospitals Group for a four-year term.

The inaugural meeting of the new board took place at UHL on January 19th. The new appointments, which followed a competition run through the Public Appointments Service, include Dr Mary Gray, Michael Mulcahy SC, Alec Gabbett, Graham Knowles and Jim Canny.

Incoming President of University of Limerick, Prof Desmond Fitzgerald, will join the board on taking up his appointment with UL.

The board is chaired by Limerick native Prof Niall O’Higgins. He has served in this role since June 2012 and his term has been extended until May 31st 2017 to allow for a smooth transition from the previous to the new board.

Dara Purcell has been reappointed secretary of the UL Hospitals Board.

All six hospitals in the Mid-West - University Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John's Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital - are united in one single hospital system, UL Hospitals.

A common model of governance covering finance, staffing and resources is delivered under the Chief Executive of UL Hospitals Group and the Board of Directors.

The Hospital Board of Directors has been established to promote the success of UL Hospitals by leading and directing its activities, involving four main elements:

The Board also has an important role in creating and maintaining a high profile for UL Hospitals at community and national level.

The Board operates on a non-statutory basis and its business will be conducted in an open and transparent manner. This includes a commitment to hold at least one board meeting a year in public.

Chairman of the Board Prof Niall O’Higgins, stated: “I am very pleased to welcome the members of the new Board. In addition to experience and in a range of specialist fields, each brings an enthusiasm and commitment to accelerate the development of the UL Hospitals Group. By their dedication to public service, the members of the new Board are determined to improve services for patients within the hospitals, to strengthen bonds between the hospitals and the University of Limerick and to work closely with the community programmes in enhancing care for both in-patients and out-patients.”

Colette Cowan, CEO, of UL Hospitals Group, said: “The executive team at UL Hospitals was delighted to meet the new board members for our first meeting this month and I look forward to working closely with them over the next four years. We could not have wished for a better group of people to guide, advise and, of course, challenge us on our plans to develop hospital services in the MidWest. The board brings an enormous wealth and breadth of clinical, professional, management, academic and business experience to the table and we fully intend to draw on that for the good of our patients.”