THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick Hospitals Group has confirmed the appointment of Limerick native Declan McNamara as its new Chief Director of Nursing and Midwifery.
Succeeding Margaret Gleeson, who retired in 2022, Mr McNamara brings to the chief nursing role the experience of several years of senior nurse management in the Group over the past two decades.
Mr McNamara said his focus would be on standards, attaining excellence for the patient journey through the continued development of the hospitals’ workforce, and harnessing leadership and innovation through smart digital transformation.
“The future for healthcare is about crossing the boundaries between acute hospital and community care, and about developing healthcare that’s truly integrated,” he explained.
Following his nurse training in London, Mr McNamara spent 12 years working in the UK, specialising in Trauma Orthopaedics, in which he completed postgraduate training at Stanmore Orthopaedic NHS Hospital.
After joining the UL Hospitals Group in 2002 as a staff nurse in UHL, he moved to Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in 2004.
He has held a number of senior nursing management positions in UL Hospitals Group, most recently as Director of Nursing in the Directorate of Perioperative Medicine. Among the healthcare projects he has led was the opening of the new emergency department at UHL in 2017.
The holder of a Diploma in Management from the Institute of Healthcare Management UK and an MSc in Healthcare Management with the RCSI, Mr McNamara is currently undertaking a PhD in Professional Healthcare Practice at the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Limerick.
UL Hospitals Group chief executive Colette Cowan said Mr McNamara would bring a wealth of experience to the further development of the Group’s nursing and midwifery workforce as expert practitioners, positioned at the forefront of patient advocacy and care.
