The Director of Adult Services and Prison Healthcare, Margaret O’Kane has retired from the South Eastern HSC Trust following an outstanding career in Health & Social Care.
Margaret always tirelessly advocated for patients and service users with Mental Health & Learning Disabilities and those living in Prison. Her commitment to putting patients at the centre of the care they receive has been integral to all of her professional roles within Health and Social Care. Margaret has taken every opportunity to expand the range of partnerships to help support people with Disabilities.
In her previous role as Senior Manager within the Lisburn sector of the South Eastern Trust, Margaret was a Board Member of Stepping Stones NI, a vocational training organisation and social enterprise for adults with learning disabilities. She spearheaded the development of Carer advocacy for families of those with a learning disability and initiated a programme of Trust/Carer partnership training, which has been integral to understanding the needs of families to help support them along their disability journey.
At the heart of Margaret’s passion has been her personal commitment and drive to work alongside others, leading teams to demonstrate true and meaningful community integration and better help for individuals with their discharge plans. Her personal values and attributes have been central to all of her work.
Reflecting on Margaret’s career, Chief Executive, Roisin Coulter said, “Margaret has been an inspiration. Her compassion, wisdom, leadership and devotion to helping others with be a lasting legacy in the Trust.”
Rachael Gibbs, who has been appointed to the role of Director of Adult Services & Prison Healthcare added, “I would like to wish Margaret a wonderful retirement. She has been an incredible mentor to so many people within the Trust and has advocated for people on the margins throughout her illustrious career. Margaret is held in high regard and the number of wonderful farewell messages which have been flooding in bears testimony to this.”