Florence has dual nursing qualifications (RSCN / RGN). She has an MSc in Healthcare Ethics and Law (hons) and MSc in Nursing (Advanced Leadership) from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. She also is a Fellow of the Faculty of Nursing, RCSI.
She has been working in the Irish Healthcare system since 1987 initially as a nurse in paediatrics for 18 years, Agency Nursing in Acute hospitals, Intellectual Disability and Older Person Residential Care services for three years and then found her passion in gerontology.
She commenced working in a large South Dublin based Section 38 Care of the Older Person facility 2009. Initially as a Clinical Nurse Manager where she led in projects such as reduction of restrictive practices (physical) and nurse education. She has been training staff on Restrictive Practices since 2014 locally and since 2022 nationally via training Companies, NB Training and La Touche.
Since 2014 Florence has been working as a Quality and Patient Safety Manager and has led in many human rights-based quality improvement projects to ensure that residents are enabled to live their lives to the best of their potential and in accordance with their wishes.
She regularly presents at conference level, averaging three – four annually. Two presentations relating to human rights and restrictive practices have won awards at national conference level.
She has experience at governance level in Intellectual Disabilities, having joined the Board of Directors of a Section 39 Wicklow based Intellectual Disability Organisation in 2017.
Her function on the Board was to give guidance to setting up the Quality and Risk Management Committee, subcommittee of the Board. She was also a member the National Disability Quality Improvement Forum.
Following her MSc in Healthcare Ethics and Law (2019), with thesis being ‘A Legal and Ethical Analysis of Deprivation of Liberty in the Irish Residential Care Sector’, she has led in a number of quality improvement initiatives relating to restrictive practices and human rights in her Organisation.
National Collaborations and Memberships
To enhance the lives of those we look after by promoting their human rights, enabling them to live their lives to their optimum ability
To make Human Rights and Restrictive Practices training more accessible to all healthcare workers.
Helping healthcare services translate theory to practice on human rights and restrictive practices.
