Council honours recently retired Western Health and Social Care Trust Chief Executive

The Chair  of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Errol Thompson, recently hosted a reception in the Council Offices in Omagh in honour of Dr Anne Kilgallen, the recently retired Chief Executive of the Western Health and Social Care Trust.

Dr Kilgallen was joined at the reception by her husband, Dr Paul Armstrong.

Please see below for the full text of Councillor Thompson’s address at the reception.

“Dr KiIgallen, fellow Councillors, officers

As Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, I am delighted to welcome you all to the Civic offices here in Omagh this afternoon.  I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to our guest of honour, Dr Anne Kilgallen, in whose honour today’s event is taking place. Anne, you are most welcome to a venue which, over the years, you have become quite familiar. Anne is also joined by her husband, Paul, and I am delighted to welcome Paul to the Council Offices also.

This afternoon affords me the opportunity, on behalf of my fellow Councillors and officers of the Council to officially recognise your contribution to healthcare not just in the North West where you have spent much of your career but also across the whole of Northern Ireland.

By profession, you are a Consultant in Public Health Medicine. You joined the Western Health and Social Care Trust as Medical Director when it was established in 2007 before taking up a secondment opportunity in 2014 with the Department of Health as Deputy Chief Medical Officer with responsibility for Population Health.

You returned to the Trust in 2017 as Chief Executive leading the organisation over the past 4 years until your recent retirement in June.

Anne, your tenure as Chief Executive has seen the organisation face many challenges and pressures not least over the last 18 months with the Covid-19 pandemic. The additional pressures that has brought not only in tackling the health implications of the coronavirus but also the impact it has had on the delivery of other core services and ultimately on the health of the population has undoubtedly tested your leadership.

However, you have risen superbly to meet the challenges and led the Senior Management of the Trust with tremendous courage and integrity to ensure that the highest level of care has been delivered to the people of the Western Trust area.

You have brought  a high level of commitment, integrity and passion to the roles which you fulfilled throughout your career and while the Trust and the elected representatives didn’t always find agreement, we, as Councillors, greatly admired your dedication and determination to deliver a high level of healthcare for the people of the West.

I am sure, Anne, that you have noticed significant changes in Healthcare delivery over the years. The Health Service here in the West has been extremely fortunate to have someone of your calibre to lead the Western Health and Social Care Trust through the last 4 years.

Anne, you have dedicated much of your working life to improving healthcare here in the West. Your stewardship over the past 4 years as Chief Executive of the Western Trust has been exemplary. As a Consultant in Public Health Medicine, we were very fortunate to have benefitted from your expertise to steer us through the greatest public health crisis in living memory.

Can I, on behalf of my colleagues, thank you for your years of dedicated service and wish you good health to enjoy a long and happy retirement.”