Dr Patricia Sheahan, consultant palliative care physician and head of palliative care at University Hospital Kerry

When Dr Patricia Sheahan was named Kerry Person of the Year in 2022, there was an outpouring of support and gratitude from the relatives of those she had cared for in her role as a palliative care consultant at University Hospital Kerry, who spoke of how she had gone above and beyond the call of duty to give them some comfort in their darkest days. Patricia has made it her life’s work to give people the dignity and compassion they deserve in their lives and deaths, leading the way in delivering one of the best palliative care services in the country. 

That desire to help others was nurtured in her hometown of Listowel in Co Kerry, where growing up she saw at first-hand the contribution her parents and family made to their community. Her father was a vet, and she recalls going on farm visits with him and how he would make a point of staying on to chat with people who he knew had called him out because they were lonely. Her mother was also a big influence, running the veterinary practice and raising a family before going on to train as a social worker and counsellor, later becoming the youngest lady captain of Ballybunion Golf Club.  

The second of four girls, Patricia was schooled by the Presentation Sisters in Listowel, and was spurred on to study medicine when her father underwent heart surgery in the year she sat her Leaving Certificate. He was also a director of Listowel Race Company and reflecting the interests of her ‘horse-mad’ family, Patricia considered becoming a racecourse doctor when she graduated from her studies in UCD. However, shortly after she qualified, her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer; Patricia returned to help care for her and she died at home. This and the wish to give others a similar experience cemented her interest in pursuing palliative care medicine.  

After a stint in St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin, she went on to work in top hospitals in London, including St Joseph’s Hospice, St John and St Ellzabeth Hospital and the Chelsea and Westminster. The latter was a particularly formative experience for her, as she was there in the 1990s when the AIDS crisis was at its height and the hospital was at the forefront of caring for people with HIV. She was involved in the design of a new palliative care unit there, and recalls the stigma faced by many patients who came from Ireland and abroad to seek treatment at the hospital. She also witnessed the arrival of revolutionary triple therapy treatment which allowed people to be well and live with HIV.  

Having gained valuable experience in the field, Patricia returned to Ireland, working in Belfast City Hospital, and with the Marie Curie Centre, going on to become the first consultant in palliative medicine in the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald. Her home place came calling in 2001, when she was appointed to her role as a consultant in palliative medicine in what was then Tralee General Hospital, now University Hospital Kerry. Since then, Patricia has been instrumental in developing a fully integrated palliative care service for the people of Kerry, alongside Kerry Hospice Foundation. She has described how she returned to a county with fantastic goodwill and volunteers who were willing to put in the work to improve services for people living with cancer and terminal illness. There have been many challenges in delivering a palliative care service that is a standard bearer in the health service but she has faced them with determination and resolve, recognising the importance of bringing everyone along on the journey. The invaluable contribution of the community in particular was recognised when the sod for the building of the Kerry Specialist Palliative Care Unit was turned by chairman of the Kerry Hospice fundraisers, Ted Moynihan, in December 2015; he also officially opened the building in September 2017.  

Since then, Patricia and her team have created a warm and welcoming refuge that has made an immeasurable difference to patients and families throughout Kerry. The service has a multi-disciplinary team encompassing everything from physiotherapy to catering and chaplaincy. Patients can access various services — medical and pastoral — in the day unit, while the 15-bed inpatient unit provides symptom control, rehabilitation and end-of-life care. There is also a home care team that provides a seven-day service, along with two advanced nurse practitioners that go into nursing homes and community hospitals to upskill staff so frail and elderly patients don’t have to attend the emergency department unnecessarily. There is a palpable sense of common purpose in the delivery of this comprehensive service and Patricia’s relentless energy and enthusiasm propels it all forward. She says her nature is always to be thinking ahead, as there is always room for improvement. Her work continues with the commencement of a new phase of development which will add five more beds to the unit. 

An active life helps her cope with the challenges of her job and swimming and horse-riding are among her many interests. Her connection to Kerry and its people underpins much of what she does, and one of her many proud achievements is becoming the first female director of Listowel Race Company. She says her greatest blessing is her family — her four sons and husband who make her life ‘fabulous’ — and she embraces the philosophy that we should live in the moment. “Life can change so fast and none of us are promised tomorrow. But people’s resilience, how they cope with the different challenges that life throws at them, that will always amaze me.”