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27-07-2010

Medical Council Appoints New Chief Executive

PRESS STATEMENT – Issued by the Medical Council

Medical Council Appoints New Chief Executive

Kenmare native Caroline Spillane to Take Up Post in October

The Medical Council wishes to announce the appointment of Ms. Caroline Spillane as its new Chief Executive. She will take up the appointment on October 1st next, and succeeds Mr. John Lamont. Her appointment follows an open recruitment competition.

Ms. Spillane is currently an Assistant National Director with the HSE, operating within the Children & Families Social Services Directorate. Previously she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency for five years. A native of Kenmare she is an economics graduate of University College Cork, and also holds an MA from the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Welcoming Ms. Spillane’s appointment, the President of the Medical Council, Professor Kieran Murphy said: “This is an exciting time of change and challenge for the Medical Council, stemming from the 2007 Medical Practitioners Act reforms, including the introduction of compulsory professional competence for doctors and the holding of Fitness to Practice Inquiries in public. I am delighted to announce Caroline Spillane’s appointment as CEO of the Medical Council. Caroline has directed the affairs of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency for the past five years, and has a proven record of excellent management, strategic and communications skills. She will have a pivotal role in helping the Council to further modernise our processes and structures to ensure that the protection of the public remains at the heart of all of our work”.

Ms. Spillane said: “I am very pleased to have been given the opportunity to manage the affairs of the Medical Council. I look forward to working with the Council and its staff to enhance the services it provides and to ensure a more integrated approach to communication with the public, the medical profession and other major stakeholders”.

Professor Murphy also paid special tribute to Mr. Marcus Balfe, the Council’s Finance Director, who had filled the CEO post on an interim basis.

The overall objective of the Medical Council is to protect the public by promoting and better ensuring high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among registered medical practitioners. There are over 18,000 doctors registered with the Medical Council.

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