RCN Northern Ireland Board Members

Briege Quinn: Board Chair

Briege has been a member of the RCN for over 40 years and is an active member of the Belfast Branch. She first became a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Board in January 2017. Having commenced her nurse training in 1980, Briege subsequently specialised in the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. She spent part of her career as a lecturer in nursing at Ulster University, working with nurses from all areas of practice to enhance their skills in recovery and co-production, as well as behaviour change to promote mental and physical health well-being.

Briege is passionate about influencing the quality, safety and service user experience in all areas of public health nursing, building a resilient workforce and promoting mental health and learning disability nursing wherever possible. She is also a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Mental Health Nursing Network.

Andrew Doherty: Vice Chair

Andrew has been a member of the RCN since 2007. After registration in 2010, he specialised in cardiology and began his career as a band five staff nurse on the cardiac ward, progressing to band six within cardiac catheterisation laboratories. Andrew worked as a resuscitation officer and practice educator for cardiology before his current role as Trade Union Secretary in the Western Health and Social Care Trust. 

An active RCN Branch Secretary, Steward and Safety Representative, Andrew is committed to supporting and representing members and advancing the trade union function of the RCN in conjunction with professional nursing development. Andrew received the RCN Award of Merit in 2021 for his exceptional service to members.

Denise Kelly: Chair, RCN Trade Union Committee 

Denise became a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Board in January 2020, following her election to represent Northern Ireland as a member of the RCN UK Trade Union Committee. In 2022, she was elected as Chair of the Trade Union Committee. Denise had been serving as Vice Chair since January 2021. Denise also chairs the RCN Northern Branch.

Denise has 30 years’ experience in the Health and Social Care service, initially as an auxiliary nurse in 1992. Denise is currently a full time senior clinical nurse co-ordinator on the Hospital At Night team. Due to her extensive experience, Denise understands the challenges facing RCN members and is proud to be a dedicated RCN member, Steward, Health and Safety Rep, and activist. Her primary focus is on the RCN’s pay campaign and safe staffing, especially following the successful industrial action undertaken by RCN members in Northern Ireland. She is passionate about the trade union work of the RCN, whilst also recognising the importance of the professional nursing work. Denise received the RCN Award of Merit in 2020 for exceptional service to members.  

Siobhan Donald: RCN Professional Nursing Committee member

Siobhan Donald has been an RCN member since 1988, when she commenced her nurse training. She previously served as a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Board from 2016 to 2018, when she was also the Northern Ireland member of RCN Council.

Siobhan has been appointed as the Northern Ireland representative on the RCN Professional Nursing Committee for a four year term of office from January 2020. The Professional Nursing Committee is the decision-making body of the RCN on professional issues and is accountable to RCN Council.

Siobhan has held a number of roles throughout the acute and unscheduled care sector in Northern Ireland and is currently Assistant Director of Nursing with the Public Health Agency. Her remit includes health in the criminal justice system, primary care and workforce issues.

Andrew Hamill

Andrew qualified from the University of Ulster in Coleraine in 2009. He began his career as a band 5 theatre nurse in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, advancing to the position of band 6 clinical charge nurse in pre-operative anaesthetic assessment. For the last three years, he has been working as site manager and clinical co-ordinator, based at Craigavon Area Hospital.

Andrew was an active RCN student member throughout his training, sitting on the regional student committee. He is currently an accredited RCN Safety Representative and a member of the RCN Southern Branch committee.

As an RCN Northern Ireland Board member, Andrew is dedicated to ensuring that the voice of the nursing family is heard at all levels. He is keen to promote nursing as a profession and encourage students to become active members. Andrew said: “As an active family of nurses, we can work together to create a safe environment for our patients and each other”.

Maureen Dolan

Maureen’s nursing career embraces 33 years within the HSC, qualifying as a registered nurse in 2005 and subsequently working mainly within a surgical directorate. She became a full RCN member in 2004. 

Maureen has an evolving history within the RCN since becoming an accredited steward within her local HSC trust and Secretary of the RCN Southern Branch. She has previously served as an RCN Northern Ireland Board member and Vice Chair, representing members regionally. Maureen also has experience at a UK level, as a committee member for the RCN Perioperative Forum and as a member of the RCN Agenda Committee, which is responsible for the governance of RCN Congress.

Maureen is passionate about the RCN membership, striving to ensure fairness and equality for all health care staff within the HSC and the independent sector. She is determined to ensure that members’ voices are heard on the diverse range of issues affecting frontline staff.

Paul McAleer

Paul is a registered learning disability nurse who currently holds the position of Lecturer in Nursing in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Queen’s University of Belfast. He has previously held a range of specialist practitioner roles.

His extensive clinical experience has been focused on supporting the biopsychosocial needs of offenders with learning disabilities and mental health disorders, through specialist risk assessment and management systems, forensic psychotherapy, delivery of structured psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational groups, and staff training. 

As a Board member, Paul is passionately committed to advocating on behalf of all RCN members working within the HSC and independent sector in Northern Ireland in order to secure fair pay and represent the wider needs of nursing. Paul believes in the collegiality and inclusivity of the profession and aims to contribute to decision-making and policy development which promotes equality, diversity and connectedness among members, no matter where they are working.

Edna Grant

Edna has been a member of the RCN since starting her nursing career in 1987. She has served as a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Board since 2020 and also as an RCN Southern Branch committee member.

As part of her role within the RCN Northern Ireland Board, Edna is very keen to highlight staff retention and safe staffing as urgent matters which need to be the focus for the organisation.

Edna has worked as a community nurse since 1996 and is passionate about ensuring that the voice of nursing from both the primary and secondary care sectors is being heard. She said: “There are a lot of changes happening at the minute and we all need to support each other through these difficult times”.

Lynn Woolsey

Lynn is currently on secondment from her substantive Assistant Director of Nursing role to the position of Assistant Director for Mental Health and Learning Disability In-patient Services in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. She has responsibility for the development and provision of services, the multi-disciplinary team, ensuring the safe delivery of care, and working with patients and their families.

As part of her role as a member of the RCN Northern Ireland Board, Lynn is keen to focus on safe nurse staffing legislation for Northern Ireland in order to secure meaningful change for staff and patients. The recognition, support and development of nursing support staff is also a key area of interest for Lynn and one that she is committed to championing in order to ensure that the nursing voice is heard at all levels across the health and social care system.

Conor McDowell

Conor has been a Registered Nurse (Adult) since 2010. Elected to the RCN Northern Ireland Board in January 2021 for a four-year term of office, Conor has been a member of the RCN since the beginning of his student career in 2007 and has always been an active member in his local branch and within his HSC trust. 

Conor is currently working as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in infectious diseases in Belfast and has held a number of positions in cardiothoracic surgery, ward management, patient flow, prison and custody healthcare. Conor is also an independent nurse prescriber and continues to undertake university study, currently being in the process of completing the nurse practitioner programme. He has also completed post-registration study in leadership and management. Conor has a keen interest in pre-hospital care and is a Nursing Officer for St John Ambulance (NI). He is also the Lead Nurse for a large company providing medical cover and resources in festival medicine. In this role Conor leads large teams of doctors, nurses and paramedics to provide medical care to crowds in excess of 40,000 people. 

Conor has a keen interest in advancing nursing practices and ensuring nurses have the correct resources to be the best they possibly can be.

Anne Campbell

Anne has been an active member of the RCN since she became a registered nurse. She has acted as a steward and a safety representative, as well as holding the positions of Secretary and Chair of the RCN Belfast Branch. She understands the challenges of RCN members at present, with the crisis of unsafe staffing and the recruitment and retention issues within nursing. 

She is a learning disability nurse and has worked in practice and management posts in the field of learning disability. She is passionate about ensuring that people with a learning disability have safe, effective and compassionate nursing care and support in community and general hospital environments. 

This is her second term as an RCN Northern Ireland Board member. As a Board member, she will continue to support all Board activities and her active role in the RCN Belfast Branch will enable her to bring members’ concerns to the Board. 

Perla Balmes

Perla qualified as a registered nurse in 1993. She gained extensive experience in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, working in theatre and ward settings, before moving to Northern Ireland in 2005. Since then, she has worked as a registered nurse after completing the overseas nursing programme, progressing to the roles of sister, deputy manager and now registered nursing home manager. Perla has many years’ experience in caring for older people in the independent sector.

She has also  qualified as an OSCE trainer and performed the role for four years, offering support through mentorship and development in all aspects of nursing care for international nurses. Perla’s passion is caring for older people, supporting and mentoring nurses, and providing training and education in nursing care to nurses and health care assistants.