Ireland

Membership information 1800 932 916

Dentolegal advice 1800 936 077

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Membership information 1800 932 916

Dentolegal advice 1800 936 077

Meet the team

We have an extensive team of Dental Protection experts here to protect members in Ireland.

Let us introduce just some of the many individuals that work together to provide you with support and advice.

Dr Raj Rattan

Dental Director

Raj graduated from the University College Hospital in London. He has worked in general dental practice for over 30 years, during which time he was the principal and co-principal of a group of practices.

Rachel Lynch

Ireland Business Lead

Rachel Lynch is the Business Lead for Medical Protection in Ireland. Based in Co. Louth, Rachel has worked for Dental Protection since 2002.

Tom Hayes

Head of Delivery Services - Ireland

Tom Hayes is Head of Service Delivery for Dental Protection and joined MPS in 2020 with an extensive background in private practice in medical law and malpractice.

Dr Martin Foster

Head of Dental Services, Ireland

Dr Martin Foster qualified from Edinburgh Dental School and worked in general practice prior to embarking on additional training in hospital and public service posts.

Vicky Colthart

Relationship Manager

Vicky is a Relationship Manager for members in Ireland. She dedicates much of her time to the planning of our three flagship conferences: Dental Conference, GP Conference and the Consultant Conference.

Leanne Keane

Ireland Business Relationship Manager

Leanne is Business Relationship Manager for Dental Protection in Ireland, having joined us in 2016 as Business Development Manager.

Dr Helen Kaney

Medicolegal and Dentolegal Services Team Lead

Dr Helen Kaney is a dentist and has qualifications and significant experience as a Solicitor.

Dr Nuala Carney

Dentolegal Consultant

Dr Nuala Carney qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 1988 with Honours and completed FFD (RCSI) in 1994.

Dr Thomas McCaffrey

Dentolegal Consultant

Dr Thomas McCaffrey graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1999. He returned to Northern Ireland to set up his own practice in 2007 and has previously been a vocational trainer.

Dr Elaine Cook

Dentolegal Consultant

Elaine is an experienced dentist and has qualifications and previous practice experience in management and as a clinical negligence lawyer.

Sinéad Lay

Case Manager

Sinéad graduated from Trinity College Dental School in 2012, and is an experienced dental nurse with qualifications in Dental Sedation and Implantology.

Sara Grewar

Solicitor and Claims Manager

Sara is a Solicitor and Claims Manager in our Irish claims team. Sara is a senior member of the team and handles many of our most complex and high value claims.

Lisa Goodall

Case Manager Assistant

Lisa is an experienced Case Manager Assistant who has assisted members in Ireland for a number of years. Lisa will often be the first port of call when a member calls the office to check on the progress of their case.

Risk prevention team

Dr Noel Kavanagh

Senior Dental Educator

Dr Noel Kavanagh is a Senior Dental Educator in Dental Protection’s Risk Prevention team – having joined Dental Protection as Education & Engagement Lead for Ireland in 2019.

Dr George Wright

Senior Dental Educator and Dentolegal Consultant

George graduated with honours from the University of Sheffield and after completing his Foundation Training, moved straight into general practice working in the NHS.

Dr Raj Rattan

Dental Director

Raj graduated from the University College Hospital in London. He has worked in general dental practice for over 30 years, during which time he was the principal and co-principal of a group of practices. He combined this with his role of Strategic Associate Dean in the London Deanery.

A member of the original Options for Change task group in 2001, Raj was then appointed as a Policy Adviser to the Department of Health and continued to act as a professional adviser to a number of NHS and private sector organisations on a consultancy basis. He has considerable experience of both the NHS and the private and corporate sectors.

Raj has authored and co-authored several textbooks, including titles on clinical governance, quality assurance and business management, and has published numerous articles in the dental press and contributed to a number of e-learning initiatives. He has examined nationally and internationally for the FGDP and is a visiting lecturer and teaching fellow on a number of postgraduate teaching programmes. He has lectured widely in the UK and overseas. In 2008, he was appointed MBE in the Queen's new year's honours list for services to dentistry. In 2014, he was admitted as a fellow of the International College of Dentists.

Raj first worked as a part-time Dentolegal Adviser for Dental Protection in 1993, before becoming a Senior Dentolegal Consultant in 2011. He became Dental Director in 2016.

Rachel Lynch

Ireland Business Lead

Rachel Lynch is the Business Lead for Medical Protection in Ireland. Based in Co. Louth, Rachel has worked for Dental Protection since 2002. Throughout her 18 years, Rachel’s role has evolved, initially working very closely with the dental and medical schools around the country, then more recently working with internal colleagues on our strategy and planning and engaging with all our main stakeholders on many of the issues affecting members in Ireland.

She will play a big part in the opening of the new Dublin office, having worked for many years with members and understanding their needs. Rachel works closely with members in Ireland and is heavily involved in event management and providing educational assistance and sponsorship support.

Tom Hayes

Head of Delivery Services - Ireland

Tom Hayes is Head of Service Delivery for Dental Protection and joined MPS in 2020 with an extensive background in private practice in medical law and malpractice.

Since his appointment he has been responsible for the resourcing of our new Irish Claims and Case management teams with a focus on maintaining excellence in service provision and ensuring MPS is closer to members and other important key stakeholders in the Irish market.

Vicky Colthart

Relationship Manager

Vicky is a Relationship Manager for members in Ireland. She dedicates much of her time to the planning of our three flagship conferences: Dental Conference, GP Conference and the Consultant Conference. She researches the biggest challenges being faced in general practice and identifies potential future challenges. This ensures Dental Protection has the most experienced experts and speakers in these fields, delivering the best educational content and providing invaluable practical take-home advice.

Vicky has worked for Dental Protection for over 14 years. Working across various departments has given Vicky great experience and insight into the needs of our members.

Email - [email protected]

Lisa Goodall

Case Manager Assistant

Lisa is an experienced Case Manager Assistant who has assisted members in Ireland for a number of years. Lisa will often be the first port of call when a member calls the office to check on the progress of their case. Lisa works closely with the team to provide a prompt response to any queries or concerns the member may have.

She will assist and advise members where possible to provide an efficient service, prioritising and escalating urgent matters to the wider team when required. Lisa has knowledge of Dental Council processes and is acutely aware of the stress members can face when having a complaint made against them.

Sara Grewar

Solicitor and Claims Manager

Sara is a Solicitor and Claims Manager in our Irish claims team. Sara is a senior member of the team and handles many of our most complex and high value claims. Sara’s role is to support members dealing with claims, being their main point of contact when a claim is made and answering any questions they have, explaining the claims process and what they can expect. Sara then works with our solicitors in Dublin to direct the investigations and ensure that we employ the best experts and barristers to understand the claim.

Sara has worked with Dental Protection for four years and is known for her calm and analytical approach and is a go-to person in the team for advice on strategy and tactics. She studied law at Glasgow University and was admitted as a solicitor in 2004. Sara was involved in negotiating the commencement of a voluntary pre-action protocol in Ireland and delivers training and education at member conferences in Dublin.

Dr Martin Foster

Head of Dental Services, Ireland

Dr Martin Foster qualified from Edinburgh Dental School and worked in general practice prior to embarking on additional training in hospital and public service posts. These involved orthodontics, sedation and special care dentistry. Further studies led to obtaining a Master’s degree, registration as a Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry and qualifications in Health Service Management. An ongoing interest in legal and ethical issues resulted in completion of legal scholarship examinations in the Faculty of Advocates.

Martin has been involved in the development of clinical guidance for SDCEP and SIGN, the establishment of sedation referral services and has experience with both undergraduate and postgraduate clinical teaching. Prior to joining Dental Protection as a Dentolegal Adviser in 2011, Martin was Assistant Clinical Director with NHS Lothian.

He is currently Dental Protection’s Head of Dental Services for Ireland. As well as assisting individual members with complaints, claims, regulatory matters and the full range of dentolegal and ethical issues which can arise in clinical practice, Martin represents the interests of members when engaging with the various agencies and stakeholders in Ireland. Martin presents regularly on a range of dentolegal topics and has an interest in communication and risk management.

Dr Elaine Cook

Dentolegal Consultant

Elaine is an experienced dentist and has qualifications and previous practice experience in management and as a clinical negligence lawyer. She has spent much of her dental career as a General Dental Practitioner within the military and is now the Senior Dental Officer in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force with 4626 (Aeromedical Evacuation) Squadron based at RAF Brize Norton.

Elaine joined Dental Protection in September 2014 and has worked in the Edinburgh team since May 2019, assisting members from Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland, with regulatory, general dental services, claim and complaint cases. She has also worked on the telephone advisory helpline several times a week and handles a number of other significant English claims for the Leeds office. As well as this, she works as a General Dental Practitioner in private practice and in her area of clinical interest (Oral Surgery) on a sessional basis.

Dr Thomas McCaffrey

Dentolegal Consultant

Dr Thomas McCaffrey graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1999. He returned to Northern Ireland to set up his own practice in 2007 and has previously been a vocational trainer. He has a keen interest in Forensic Dentistry and has a Diploma in Forensic Human Identification and a Diploma in Legal Medicine from the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. He currently works full time as a Dentolegal Consultant for Dental Protection based in Enniskillen.

Thomas has assisted dental members in Ireland and Northern Ireland for some time, helping with complaints, claims and regulatory matters. Thomas is also actively involved in delivering risk management lectures and webinars to members in Ireland.

Dr Helen Kaney

Medicolegal and Dentolegal Services Team Lead

Helen is a dentist and also has qualifications and significant experience as a solicitor and completed an MBA in 2013. She is a Fellow and an elected Board Member of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) and a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine.

Helen qualified in dentistry from Glasgow University and spent many years in general dental practice as well as working as a clinical assistant in restorative dentistry at Glasgow Dental Hospital and at Guy’s Hospital in London. Helen developed an early interest in dental law and studied law before training as a solicitor and working for several years as a clinical negligence and regulatory solicitor, acting for dentists and doctors on the instructions of their defence organisations.

Helen has, for many years, assisted Dental Protection’s dental members in a number of countries including Ireland, with complaints, claims and other significant dentolegal cases and brings her knowledge and experience in general dental and legal practice to that role. She has worked extensively over the years with Ireland dental members and MPS’ external panel lawyers in assisting Irish dentists with a wide variety of ethical, dentolegal and legal matters.

Helen now leads the MPS’ medico and dentolegal services team, comprising a number of experienced medico and dentolegal consultants who assist our members in Ireland.

Leanne Keane

Ireland Business Relationship Manager

Leanne is Business Relationship Manager for Dental Protection in Ireland, having joined us in 2016 as Business Development Manager.

Leanne possesses a wealth of experience in the Irish dental market and is focused on supporting and maintaining business relationships with members across the country. As the first point of contact at conferences and events, Leanne is also key to communicating our expertise and the benefits of membership to students at Dublin Trinity and Cork Dental schools.

Email - [email protected]

Dr Noel Kavanagh

Senior Dental Educator

Dr Noel Kavanagh is a Senior Dental Educator in Dental Protection’s Risk Prevention team – having joined Dental Protection as Education & Engagement Lead for Ireland in 2019.

Noel graduated from Dublin Dental University Hospital in 1995 and subsequently worked as an associate & principal dentist in the UK, before returning to Ireland in 2000. He was a partner in a general dental practice in Kilkenny City for 19 years and had a clinical interest in minimally invasive & adhesive dentistry.

Noel held a position as a clinical supervisor in the Dublin Dental University Hospital and delivered lectures both there and at the HSE’s national dental conference. He developed and delivered hands-on posterior composite courses for HSE dentists and compliance workshops for both the Irish Dental Association and the Irish Faculty of Primary Dental Care. He served on the committee of the IFPDC and is a member of the IDA – previously serving as a GDP rep and on their Quality & Patient Safety Committee.

Noel holds a Diploma of Membership of The Joint Dental Faculties of The Royal College of Surgeons of England; a Professional Certificate in Medico Legal Aspects of Health Care and a Graduate Diploma in Health Care (Risk Management & Quality) from the Forensic & Legal Medicine Dept. of UCD; a Diploma in Legal Medicine from the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians London and an Advanced Diploma in Medical Law from King’s Inns Dublin.

Noel is a dental speaker and author on various Risk Prevention topics; develops & delivers dental podcasts & webinars and facilitates both virtual and face to face workshops. He is also involved in developing and delivering Risk Prevention education to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the two Irish dental schools.

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw

Medicolegal Lead, Medical Protection

Dr Pallavi Bradshaw graduated from St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, gaining a BA (Hons) with a dissertation in Medical Law and Ethics. She trained at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, gaining membership to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, before continuing higher specialist training until joining Medical Protection in 2007. Pallavi completed a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) with commendation at the College of Law, Guildford in June 2010. She was granted Foundation Membership to the Faculty of Legal and Forensic Medicine, London in April 2013. Having gained an academic scholarship, she was awarded an Executive MBA with merit from Warwick Business School.

She is the Medicolegal Lead for the Risk Prevention department and responsible for delivery and strategic development of the member risk programme, leading a global team of clinicians. The programme utilises Medical Protection’s international experience to develop risk management training and education to improve patient safety and promote ethical practice, as well as supporting healthcare professionals to manage their medicolegal risk.

In her previous role as Medicolegal Consultant, she supported and advised doctors across the world and led the team in Asia. She has been involved in many high-profile cases over the past decade and understands the specific challenges faced by consultants, bringing this insight to the Risk Prevention programme. She is also involved in developing Medical Protection policies and engages with stakeholders and the media, regularly writing for and being quoted in trade and national press promoting the interests of doctors. She also presents internationally on medicolegal topics and patient safety initiatives.

Diane Baylis

Clinical Risk Educator

Diane Baylis is a Clinical Risk Educator in Medical Protection’s Risk Prevention department. She has a passion and dedication for improving the quality and safety of patient care. Diane develops and delivers risk management education and training to healthcare professionals in order to improve the quality and safety of patient care and reduce avoidable harm to patients.

She has 25 years’ experience as a registered nurse in a range of organisations, including primary and secondary care, working at a senior management level. She has an MSc in Risk Management in Health and Social Care.

Diane has been working for Medical Protection for the past ten years and over that period of time has worked extensively in Ireland providing expert risk management advice and training to members, and has presented at many of our conferences and events.

Dr George Wright

Senior Dental Educator and Dentolegal Consultant

George graduated with honours from the University of Sheffield and after completing his Foundation Training, moved straight into general practice working in the NHS. George joined Dental Protection in 2016 as an Associate Dentolegal Adviser, splitting his time working in general practice where he was appointed Foundation Trainer with the South Yorkshire Deanery.

In September 2018, George took up a full-time position with Dental Protection as a Dentolegal Consultant working in the Advisory Team, and in April 2020 was appointed Senior Medical Educator in Risk Prevention. As a Dentolegal Consultant, George regularly interacts with members in Ireland when receiving calls on Dental Protection’s advice line.

Within Risk Prevention, George is responsible for supporting the development and delivery of risk prevention material to members across the globe, including in Ireland. In 2015, George was appointed Postgraduate Dental Tutor with Health Education England, working across Yorkshire and the Humber – a role which he stood down from in 2018 in order to focus on his work with Dental Protection.

George has a lot of experience presenting to dentists in Ireland, having delivered a number of webinars, most notably on the subject of teledentistry and supporting patients during the coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, George presented at Dental Protection’s Ireland Dental Conference on the subject of ‘Mastering Conflict and Aggression’.

Dr Nuala Carney

Dentolegal Consultant

Dr Nuala Carney qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 1988 with Honours and completed FFD (RCSI) in 1994. With four years spent in hospital dentistry, two years working on a dental therapist training project in India and several years in general practice in New Zealand, France and Ireland, Nuala has experienced many different types of clinics, dental systems, challenges and approaches to patient care.

Nuala has had the privilege to be based with Dr Paddy Crotty at the Dorset Dental Clinic in Dublin for many years, in a practice committed to clinical excellence.

In 2004 Nuala began serving the Irish Dental Association, first as Treasurer for the Metro branch and then as Board member and Treasurer. This experience provided an insight into the enormous personal value of collegiality and mutual support. During this time, Nuala also become a local dental adviser for Dental Protection.

Nuala subsequently took a Masters in Medical Law (LLM) at Cardiff University, graduating in 2018 with a Distinction and the Cardiff Law School prizes for first place in all LLM Disciplines and the LLM Dissertation prize.

Currently, Nuala also serves as a member of the IDA’s International Affairs team, representing Irish dentists at the Council of European Dentistry and the FDI.

Nuala believes passionately in the value and importance of supporting colleagues at every stage of their career and through the many challenges that can arise, both in and out of practice. She is excited to combine her dental, legal and local knowledge as part of the new MPS Dublin office, from which she can help provide excellent service to members that’s tailored specifically to their needs.

Sinéad Lay

Case Manager

Sinéad graduated from Trinity College Dental School in 2012, and is an experienced dental nurse with qualifications in Dental Sedation and Implantology.

She holds an Advanced Diploma in Medical Law from the Kings Inns and is currently undertaking a law degree with a view towards studying the Barrister at Law degree.

Sinéad Joined Dental Protection in 2020, helping members in the Republic of Ireland with a wide range of both dental and medical cases, including complaints, reports, advice, inquests, and regulatory cases. She also advises members daily on our medical advice line.

Sinéad is a regular contributor to Medical Protection’s Practice Matters publication and her articles regularly feature in the Medical Independent.