Before focussing her work in the healthcare innovation space, Caitriona worked for over 15 years as a Speech and Language Therapist in the UK and Ireland.
In both her national and directorate role, Caitriona’s remit is to drive innovation activity at the front line by providing funding, support and mentorship to the many ‘intrapreneurs’ and entrepreneurs working across the Irish healthcare system. She is personally driven to enhance the pipeline of innovation activity for talented healthcare workers in Ireland through the Spark Innovation Programme and in partnership with the Health Innovation Hub Ireland.
Caitriona is a graduate of both the Quality Improvement and Leadership Programme at Royal College of Physicians Ireland and the Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare innovation at Trinity College Dublin. She draws heavily on both the theories of QI and Innovation in her work. She has a special interest in Design and Design Thinking as an effective approach to healthcare service development and delivery and is dedicated to enacting the recently published ‘Design Principles for Government’ in Ireland. She is currently undertaking research exploring the barriers and enablers for healthcare staff who engage in innovation activity in the Irish healthcare system.