UCC Anaesthesiology Newsletter
Welcome to the Summer Edition
We would like to thank all the contributors for the academic and social updates- including conferences, kayaking and ice-cream. We especially thank Dr Mary Doherty for contributing to the article on how the SPACE Framework can be used to address some of the challenges faced by autistic service users and health care personnel. She is a Consultant Anaesthesiologist at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan and a Clinical Associate Professor at UCD School of Medicine. She is widely published in the area, is a tireless advocate and is a founder of Autistic Doctors International. She will receive the esteemed British Citizen Award Medal of Honour for Services to Healthcare at the Palace of Westminster in London on July 23rd in recognition of her outstanding contribution to society.
We would also like to thank our editor Dr Roisin Devane for her valuable contributions to the newsletter over the last year and we wish her the very best in her future career.
We would like to wish you all the very best of luck at changeover and we hope that you enjoy the rest of the summer. As always, we welcome submissions from within and beyond the region.
CAI Annual Congress 2026:
We congratulate the organisers of the 2026 CAI Annual Congress which was held at UCD recently. The region was well represented. Professor Brian O’Donnell (Consultant Anaesthesiologist, CUH) chaired a fascinating session on perioperative medicine (above photo).
Dr Gabriella Iohom (Consultant Anaesthesiologist, CUH- centre above) chaired some of the trainees' presentation competitions. Dr Dylan Gouveia (SAT 1, CUH) was photographed below speaking at the Poster Elevator Pitch.
Dr Aoife Driscoll (Regional Anaesthesia Fellow, CUH- below left) chaired a session for the NAP 8 Leads.
As always, the congress also provided an excellent opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues.
Recent trauma courses:
An Advanced Trauma Life Support (above) and a European Trauma Course (below) were held at the Brookfield Health Sciences Complex at University College Cork. Both courses aim to improve trauma care. Consultant and NCHD Anaesthesiologists were well represented on both faculties and amongst the candidates.
Adult Resus Sim Team Training, CUMH:
Another Adult Resuscitation Simulation was held in the Recovery Room of the Cork University Maternity Hospital. This initiative provides team training in the management of critical events, and staff from the CUMH Theatre Complex and Delivery Suite attended. Anaesthesiology participants included Dr Ciarán Sheehan (SAT 2), Dr MJ Van Jaarsveld (SHO) and Dr Oonagh Hickey (Consultant).
Intensive Care Unit Ward Clerk Appointments:
Dr Roisin Devane:
A very big welcome to two new ward clerks in the CUH Intensive Care Unit. Appointed in February of this year, this is the first time the ICU in the CUH has had ward clerks. Their presence has relieved pressure from other ward staff including patient chart organisation, ICCA admissions and PIMs appointments.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Chloe and Colleen for a feature piece in the newsletter.
Chloe hails all the way from the other side of the Lee in Gurrannabraher. Outside of the ICU you can find her working as tour guide for Cork’s underground donut tour! For any curious donut fanatics amongst us we must mention the inclusion in the tour: Cameron Bakery, Off beat and Cafe Mexicana.
Colleen, coming from slightly further afield, is originally from Dundalk but has relocated to Cork for a Coachford man. Her hobbies include attending car rallies and drift racing around the city. Perhaps we have a new contender for first place in the 2027 Cork Anaesthesia Department Karting Day!
Dr Gaffney Award:
We congratulate Dr Gearóid Morgan-O'Brien, UCC Class of 2025, who was recently awarded the Dr Gaffney Award and Medal for excellence in undergraduate Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. The award is funded by the Anaesthesia Research and Education Fund and established in honour of Dr Desmond Gaffney who was instrumental in the development of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care in Cork and in Ireland. It was presented by Professor Paula O'Leary, Dean of the School of Medicine, UCC (photo above).
The research project was titled “Predictive Modelling for ICU Mortality in Traumatic Brain Injury: Insights from a Level 1 Trauma Centre” and was supervised by Dr Robert Plant (Consultant Anaesthesiologist, CUH) and Mr MGJ O’Sullivan (Consultant Neurosurgeon, CUH). Gearóid also presented the findings at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine 38th Annual Congress in Munich in October (photo below).
Gearóid is currently working as an Intern at St James's Hospital Dublin and will then work in both Intensive Care Medicine and Neurosurgery at the Royal Perth Hospital. We wish him the very best in his future career.
International Nurses Day:
International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12th and recognises the essential role that nurses and midwives play in delivering safe, high quality and patient centered health care globally. Complimentary ice creams and coffees were provided to CUMH staff to acknowledge the day. Photographed are Ms Najimamol Anoop (RN) and anaesthesiologists Dr Sebastian Bukovec and Dr Manal Tanveer enjoying an ice-cream in the sunshine.
Cork City Marathon:
Congratulations to all the athletes who competed in the recent Cork City Marathon, Half Marathon and 10Km- especially those from the anaesthesiology community. Dr Geraldine Armissoglio, Dr Kata Szabo and Dr Ray O’Connor (not in photo) completed the Half Marathon and Dr Murray Connolly completed the Marathon. All are Consultants in the CUH.
Also photographed are Dr Ciarán Doherty (Consultant, CUH) and his lovely wife, Shila, who was a volunteer for the event.
Well done all!
Annual CUH Anaesthetic Kayaking Outing:
The annual CUH Anaesthetic Kayaking Outing was held at the Oysterhaven Activity Centre in June. The morning started with a paddle around the bay followed by highly competitive attempts to run to the end of the inflatable Moonwalk (top left of photo).
Dr Ciarán Sheehan consistently ran the furthest on the Moonwalk before gracefully diving into the water. Dr Nasir Ali spent the most time in the water, partly as a result of “help” from colleagues. In contrast, Dr Islam Daffalla managed to avoid getting her hair wet and returned to dry land looking as elegant as usual. The survivors then debriefed over croissants.
We would like to thank Sinead, Conor and the staff at Oysterhaven Activity Centre for facilitating a fun outing.
Pain Medicine Unit Summer Party:
The CUH/SIVUH Pain Department Summer Party took place on 25th June 2026 to recognise the hard work of all pain department members over the course of the year - between outpatient clinics, phone clinics, injection lists, multidisciplinary team meetings and patient education workshops. There were 21 department members in attendance with a good representation across consultants, NCHDs, nursing, multidisciplinary team members and administrative staff.
The night started in Dr Mullins’s apartment for an apéritif overlooking Cork city (photo on balcony) and continued in the new Indian/Pakistani restaurant beside the Opera House called Namak - this was at the recommendation of some of our local Pakistani doctors, especially Dr Naseer Khan. The consensus among our Indian/Pakistani colleagues in attendance was that it is most likely the nicest South Asian restaurant in the city!
As it was a Thursday night, the night did not continue too late but there are unconfirmed reports of a Dr John Browne crowd surfing at 1am in Crane Lane that night, but that may have to celebrate his recent cap on the Ireland senior football team! He recently captained Ireland over 55’s against England. The final score was 1-1 and there are rumours that he is on standby for the men senior team if there are any injuries at centre back.
End of year awards:
Congratulations to Dr Eleanor O’Riordan and Dr Ciarán Sheehan who recently received the CUH Best NCHD awards. Dr O’Riordan also received the Departmental Medal for her project on paediatric delirium.
Baby news:
Huge congratulations to Dr Vinnie Wall (Consultant Anaesthesiologist, SIVUH), Ms Aisling Cullen and Senan (Big Brother) on the safe arrival of Baby Andrea.
We also congratulate Dr John McNamara (Consultant Anaesthesiologist, CUH), Ms Rebecca Marshall, and Big Brothers Rory and Dylan on the arrival of Baby John jnr.
Wedding bells:
Further huge congratulations to Dr Roslyn Colgan (Anaesthesiology SHO, CUH) who tied the knot with her husband Jack in June at a beautiful reception in Monaghan.
Autism and Anaesthesia: a simple framework for everyday practise
At least 1-2% of the population is autistic, representing a wide range of strengths and challenges. Greater societal awareness and understanding have led to more accommodations- for example schools, universities (including UCC), supermarket chains and cinemas are engaging with autism advocacy groups to provide reasonable accommodations for autistic people and their families. In 2018, AsIAm (Ireland’s National Autism charity) worked with local stakeholders in Clonakilty to develop the first Autism Friendly Town in Ireland. AsIAm also works with Transport For Ireland (TFI) to assist autistic people in negotiating the public transport system. Cork City Council have just announced the appointment of an “Autism-Friendly City Officer” to assist in the development of a three-year plan to embed inclusion across Cork City life.
However, negotiating healthcare can present a significant challenge to autistic people and autism is associated with poorer health outcomes and a shorter life expectancy. An autistic person may experience sensory, communication, social interaction and executive function difficulties. For example, speaking over the phone may be particularly challenging. Anxiety, depression and suicide are more common. Certain medical conditions (e.g. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS) are more prevalent in autistic people and other medical conditions may present differently.
Dr Mary Doherty is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Our Lady’s Hospital Navan. She is a Clinical Associate Professor at University College Dublin School of Medicine and an Associate Professor at Exeter University. She is widely published in this area (link below) and is an advocate for autistic healthcare users and healthcare professionals. She was asked to engage with local GP’s in Clonakilty as part of the Autism Friendly Town initiative. She is collaborating with the Brothers of Charity (now Corlann) in Cork to implement the SPACE Framework (attached above with permission). In 2019 she founded the peer support and advocacy group Autistic Doctors International. She recently attended an autistic think tank at the United Nations. On July 23rd she will receive the esteemed British Citizen Award Medal of Honour for Services to Healthcare at the Palace of Westminster in recognition of her outstanding contribution to society.
An article titled “Autism and Anaesthesia: a simple framework for everyday practice” by authors Dr Sarah Brown, Dr Kai Rabenstain and Dr Mary Doherty was recently published in BJA Education. It is an excellent article and gives a great insight into the challenges faced by a significant proportion of our service users and health care colleagues. It also outlines measures which may optimise communication and provide reasonable adjustments, including the SPACE Framework (first link below).
Autism and anaesthesia: a simple framework for everyday practice - BJA Education
Mary | Changemakers | Personal stories | Autistica | Autistica
Mary Doherty | Outputs | University College Dublin
Autistic Doctors International | Linktree
Autistic Doctors International
As I Am | Ireland's Autism Charity
Clonakilty - Autism Friendly Town
https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/news/2026/drmarydohertytoreceivebcamedalofhonouratwestminsterpalace/
Editors:
Dr Roisin Devane (SHO), Dr Oonagh Hickey, Dr Alan Horan (Consultants), Cork University Hospital