Galway GP Dr Niamh O’Brien has been announced as the winner of the Dr Fiona Bradley national award.
The presentation was made at a Joint Annual Meeting of the Association of University Departments of General Practice in Ireland and the Irish College of General Practitioners, hosted by University of Galway.
Celebrating the contributions of the late Dr Fiona Bradley, the national award in her memory is made to an individual who has made a sustained difference in health care in Ireland and/ or internationally.
Dr O’Brien, a graduate of the School of Medicine at University of Galway, is founder and GP at Galway Family Doctors, Mervue, Galway city.
The award citation described Dr O’Brien as “an outstanding exemplar of a general practitioner combining excellent clinical care with a fierce advocacy for all patients.”
Dr O’Brien said it is a great honour to receive this award in memory of the late Dr Fiona Bradley.
“Her legacy of service to patients who have medical and social disadvantage is one which I can only aspire to emulate. I consider it an enormous privilege to provide clinical care and advocacy to my patients in Mervue Health Centre and at the HSE West Addiction Services.”
Dr Fiona Bradley’s parents, Brendan and Pamela attended the presentation of the award to Dr O’Brien at University of Galway.
Dr O’Brien has combined supporting the development of the practice in Mervue with significant outreach work to patients who face particular difficulties in accessing services.
She had led on service development in the Galway Drug Treatment Centre, within which she has led a multi-disciplinary team, with Clinical Nurse Specialist Orla O’Brien, in the delivery of addiction services to some of the most socially disadvantaged patients in the city and wider region.
From 2009 to 2015, Dr O’Brien also worked at Galway’s confidential support service for young people, Jigsaw, as a GP with a special interest in youth mental health. As it was a new service, Dr O’Brien was a key early advocate and champion among her colleagues and community.
During the pandemic, Dr O’Brien continued to be a prominent and strong advocate for all patients including those most socially disadvantaged.
In particular, she particularly highlighted the importance of access to Covid vaccinations for all patients.
Together with her husband Cuan MacConnell, she represented her daughter Annie, as part of a test case, in challenging the Government’s decision to close special schools.
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