Epilepsy Ireland would like to express our warmest congratulations to Professor Donncha O’Brien who was recently awarded with the Outstanding Contribution to Medicine prize as part of the Irish Healthcare Awards.
Professor O’Brien is a distinguished Consultant Neurosurgeon and Clinical Director of Neurosurgery at Beaumont Hospital - and serves as the Lead Neurosurgeon for the National Epilepsy Surgery Programme.
Many individuals we have supported have benefited from the potentially lifesaving and transformative epilepsy surgeries offered by Professor O’Brien and the wider team at Beaumont. We have seen first-hand the positive impact of these procedures, with patients often returning to share their inspiring stories and experiences.
At Epilepsy Ireland, we have long recognised the exceptional work being done within the Beaumont neurosurgery department – led by Professor O’Brien alongside an incredible team. This work was showcased to a public audience for the first time earlier this year through the fantastic TV series, the Brain Doctors.
The four-part documentary on Virgin Media offered an in-depth look at the world of neurosurgery, following Professor O’Brien and his colleagues as they supported neurosurgery patients while tackling complex and life-changing brain procedures. If you did not watch it at the time, you can still do so by visiting the Virgin Media website.
More recently, Professor O’Brien joined us at our National Conference where he spoke about neurosurgery, and when surgery may be considered for people with epilepsy. It is a fascinating input and will be available to view shortly by visiting the Epilepsy Ireland National Conference page on our website.
Although surgery is not a viable option for everyone, and while it must be recognised that positive outcomes can never be guaranteed, the impact of the neurosurgery services led by Professor O’Brien at Beaumont has been immense and his recognition at the Irish Healthcare awards is further proof of this.
Like many aspects of our health services, the neurosurgery department faces significant pressures, and we fully support the need for increased resources to alleviate this strain. Enhanced support for the neurosurgery service would enable more individuals with epilepsy to be assessed as potential candidates for potentially life-changing procedures.
We look forward to continuing to work with Professor O’Brien and the wider team at Beaumont to advocate for this support but in the meantime, we would like to thank him for his continued support and immense contribution to the epilepsy community and congratulate him on this award.
You can learn more about these awards by visiting the Irish Healthcare awards website, while further information on surgery can be found by visiting the ‘Epilepsy Surgery’ page on our website.
If you need any support or information around your or your family member’s journey with epilepsy, do not hesitate to get in touch with your local Community Resource Officer. You can find their details by visiting the 'Our Local Services' section of our website.