ProfessorDeborah McNamara

Professor Deborah McNamara is President of RCSI and Consultant General & Colorectal Surgeon at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.

She qualified from Trinity College Dublin and completed surgical training in Ireland and France, specialising in surgical management of colorectal cancer. She was appointed Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon in 2003, and also held the roles of Programme Director of the National Higher Surgical Training Programme in General Surgery (2010-2013) and Clinical Director for Surgery at Beaumont Hospital (2014-2017). She served as Co-Lead of the HSE / RCSI National Clinical Programme for Surgery (2017-2024). 

She has led numerous small- and large-scale healthcare improvement programmes, in areas including patient safety, operating theatre efficiency and surgical care pathways, as well as the development of models of care for surgical specialties. Her work as Chair of the Colorectal Cancer Guidelines and Clinical Leads groups of the Irish National Cancer Control Programme (2011-2024) lead to the publication of the first National Clinical Guidelines for colon and rectal cancer, endorsed by the Minister for Health as national policy.