Shaping the future of healthcare through collaboration and leadership
Leaders from across Ireland’s health system gathered last week at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) Leadership Forum to explore how collaboration and medical leadership can strengthen the future of healthcare delivery.
The event brought together clinicians, policymakers and senior health officials to address the growing complexity of healthcare in Ireland. Population growth, an ageing population and rising demand are continuing to reshape how care is delivered. Speakers highlighted how aligned leadership, strategic workforce planning and strong governance are essential to ensuring a sustainable system for the future.
Opening the forum, RCPI President Dr Diarmuid O'Shea emphasised that meaningful progress depends on partnership. He highlighted that bringing together clinicians, policymakers and health system leaders in shared partnership is “the foundation on which a successful, thriving and responsive healthcare system is built.”
An address from Ms Anne O'Connor, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Service Executive, highlighted the scale of change facing healthcare systems globally and nationally. Speaking just weeks into her tenure, she described healthcare as “a single ecosystem,” stressing that reform must be built with clinicians rather than imposed.
“Change that does not meaningfully engage clinicians fails,” she said. “Reform must be built with clinicians, using their professional judgment, mobilising clinical insight and sharing responsibility.”
She pointed to demographic change, rising demand and increasing complexity as defining challenges for the decades ahead. By the late 2030s, one in five people in Ireland will be over 65, shifting care needs toward long-term management and community-based services.
“The difficult truth is what we are experiencing is not a series of short-term shocks but a sustained shift in underlying demand,” she said, adding that “a system that survives through effort alone eventually exhausts the people who sustain it.”
Workforce planning for the decades ahead was another key focus of the forum. Professor Anthony O'Regan, Medical Director of NDTP, outlined the need for data-driven, long-term planning aligned with population trends and service demand. He highlighted the complexity of planning for a growing and ageing population and said, “If you don’t have data, you can’t measure,” emphasising the importance of robust workforce information to support future planning.
The forum also examined how innovation and critical thinking can support better healthcare delivery. Professor Mary Horgan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, spoke about the need to rethink traditional approaches in a rapidly changing system.
“It isn’t about doing the same thing all the time - it’s about doing things differently with the resources we have,” she said, highlighting the role of digital transformation, multidisciplinary collaboration and community-based care in improving outcomes for patients.
The forum also heard from Ms Rachel Kenna, Chief Nursing Officer at the Department of Health, Professor Ed McKone, Dean of the Institute of Medicine, Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan, Chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer at HSE, reflecting the breadth of clinical and system leadership involved in shaping future healthcare delivery. Professor Trevor Duffy, RCPI Director of Healthcare Leadership, and Dr Colm Henry moderated an engaging panel discussion.
A clear theme emerged throughout the day with collaboration, aligned leadership, strong governance and long-term workforce planning all central to building a more resilient and responsive health system. The importance of education, training and lifelong learning, a central focus of the college, was reflected throughout the discussions, particularly in supporting both doctors and the wider interprofessional team as healthcare continues to evolve.
As Ms O’Connor emphasised, “Developing and supporting medical leadership through protected time, training, authority and accountability is not a nice to have. It is essential. It is an essential infrastructure for a modern healthcare system.”
A full report from the forum will be published by RCPI, setting out the key insights and recommendations from the discussions and supporting its ongoing work across Ireland’s health system.
Image gallery
View images from the RCPI Leadership Forum event