Clinical Staff
It may surprise some to learn that there is currently no formal requirement to hold any professional qualifications in order to practise as a Prosthetist or Orthotist in Ireland. This anomaly is soon to be addressed by the government. However since its formation in 1990 IDS has always employed only formally qualified clinical staff. No formal qualification is available in Ireland, so most have been trained and graduated from one of the two UK Universities. Staff who qualified on the continent hold similar or equivalent qualifications. All clinical staff receive frequent post graduate training and education on an on-going basis. This is via both our connection to the Otto Bock Academy and external sources. All senior clinical staff have specialisations and their training is focussed upon these. Clinical practise is supported by several sophisticated technical aids to and all relevant staff are fully trained to use these.
Technical Staff
Most but not all IDS technical staff are recruited and trained in-house. Most have specialisations and subsequent training is focussed upon these. Training is via both our connection to the Otto Bock Academy and external sources. Training is absolutely crucial to ensure competence in using the very broad range of complex components which IDS utilises.
Some of our Staff:
Jan Ottosson gratuated from the School of Health Sciences Jönköping University Sweden in 2000 after which he started working for Aktiv Ortopedteknik in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, as a prosthetist and orthotist. Jan also worked as a internal quality auditor within the Aktiv Group in Sweden. In 2005 Jan was appointed General Manager of the clinic in Örnsköldsvik. A position he held until starting working for IDS as a prosthetist and orthostist in April 2010. In October 2010, Jan was appointed Deputy Manager of IDS and General Manager in January 2011.
Jan Ottosson -General Manager
Dave Allen is presently supporting IDS as an Advisor after stepping away from his role as the Clinical Services Director in January 2011. He was a founder of IDS Ltd. in 1990 and has been working full time in the Republic as a Prosthetist/Orthotist and Director. He was originally an aircraft technician, technical inspector and mechanical engineer but joined the Health Service in Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast in 1978. He trained in Roehampton as a Prosthetic Technical Inspector and held this position in Belfast for four years before he returned to university to train as a Prosthetist/Orthotist. He qualified in 1987 and in 1988 he became a founder and Managing Director of IPS in Belfast Ltd, which provided the prosthetic service to Northern Ireland. Before founding IDS in Dublin he had already been a founding member of BAPO, a member of the executive committee, Editor of the BAPO Newsletter and a presenter at several BAPO conferences. He is also a founding member of the Bioengineering Forum and SOSORT, an international society which supports and develops the orthotic management of scoliosis. He is a long-term member of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, an approved training supervisor for undergraduate students from Salford and Strathclyde Universities and a frequent lecturer to Irish undergraduates in other disciplines.
Dave Allen -AdvisorDonna Fisher -Lead Prosthetist/Orthotist
Donna Fisher graduated from Strathclyde University in 1993 and joined the small team at IDS immediately. She has provided the specialist orthotic service to the CRC at Clontarf since 1994, attending weekly. This service has been expanded to include a Waterford clinic, which Donna also attends.
Donna is now a key and established member of the CRC multidisciplinary team. Donna also provides the prosthetic service to the tumour clinic at Cappagh and also to the quarterly CULD clinic. Donna has been an accredited student supervisor since 1995 and has been an external examiner for Strathclyde University since 2002. She is now studying for an MSc. in Amputee Sports.Phil Brown -Workshop Manager
Phil Brown joined IDS as a trainee Technician in March 1994 directly from a Technician training course. He has worked for IDS ever since then, manufacturing repairing and adjusting the full range of prostheses and orthoses which we provide. He was appointed workshop manager in October 2007 and supervises a staff of 9 Technicians.Pauline Wilkins : Administration Manager
Pauline joined IDS in February 1999 as a receptionist/administrator and was promoted to Administration Manager in 2002. Pauline and her team of four administrators are responsible for organising our Cappagh and satellite clinics, patient appointments and HSE applications for funding. They endeavor to deal with all queries in a friendly and efficient manner!Michael Whelan-Systems Quality Manager
Michael Whelan joined IDS as a trainee Technician in March 1994 directly from a Technician training course, which involved the manufacturing, repairing and adjusting the full range of prostheses and orthotic devices, He was appointed Technical Manager from 2000-2007. Within this time Michael lead a team of experienced Technicians, both in Orthotics and Prosthetics, which involved planning, coordination and control of manufacturing processes. In 2007 Michael was appointed to the role of Systems Quality Manager. Within this role, he is in charge of developing, implementing and maintaining a quality plan to bring the Company's Quality Systems and Policies into compliance with quality system requirements. Michael also leads the purchasing staff team to establish quality requirements and deadline from external suppliers.