My name is Joan Love and I am an Independent Legal Nursing Consultantand Expert Witness. I have 33 years experience as a nurse.

Most recently, I was employed for 7 years as Assistant Director of Nursing/Night Superintendent at St. Vincent’s University Hospital which is a major academic teaching hospital located in Dublin. In this role, I led the site management of the hospital which has in excess of 500 general adult beds including those in the Intensive Care Unit, Coronary Care Unit, Vascular/Thoracic High Dependency Unit, Liver/Liver Transplant High Dependency Unit, Operating Theatres, Post Anaesthetic Care Unit, Orthopaedic wards, Renal ward, Plastic surgery ward, Hepato-bilary wards, Oncology/Haematology wards, Urology ward, Care of the Elderly ward and Psychiatric Unit. The Emergency Department is one of the busiest in the country.

I led and was responsible for the Nursing Service in the Hospital at night, ensuring that adequate skill mix was provided and best practice care was delivered. I had overall responsibility for the Operational Management of the Hospital including bed management, the provision of clinical support, expertise and managerial advice to all levels of staff, attendance at emergencies and collaboration with department heads and other disciplines. I investigated adverse incidents, both clinical and non-clinical, identified the risks involved and provided feedback to relevant managers in order to reduce the risks going forward. I investigated complaints made by patients, their family members and staff, apologized where and when appropriate on behalf of the hospital and was involved in dispute resolution. I identified and implemented operational processes to best practice standards in order to ensure compliance with statutory requirement ad the optimal use of resources. St. Vincent’s University Hospital gained Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation in 2010. I continued to ensure that improvements were continuing and that the Nursing department was meeting JCI accreditation standards. I created and promoted healthy working relationships amongst staff. My other responsibilities included creating an effective learning environment, encouraging staff development and efficiently managing human and financial resources to ensure that a high-quality service was delivered to patients in a safe environment. I promoted an awareness of the primacy of the patient in relation to all Hospital activities.

Over my 33 years of practice, I have had extensive experience in a wide range of managerial positions within the Irish Health Service. I am also qualified in the areas of Emergency Department Nursing, Coronary Care Nursing and Healthcare Management. I was a member of The Eastern Regional Health Authority’s Cardiovascular Steering Group and a member of The Irish Heart Foundation’s Coronary Care Council. I was also a part-time lecturer for The School of Physiotherapy’s MSc in Cardiac Rehabilitation at Trinity College, University of Dublin and Visiting Lecturer at The University of Glasgow for Developments in Cardiovascular Education (DICE) course. I have delivered both oral & poster presentations at both national and international conferences.

Previous management roles that i held were as Clinical Nurse Manager III for Cardiology & Respiratory services, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Cardiac Rehabilitation Co-ordinator in Tallaght University Hospital. Acting CNM2 in The Coronary Care Unit and Orthopaedic and Medical wards in The Adelaide Hospital, Dublin. I also worked as a staff nurse in a number of Nursing Homes.

I started working as a Legal Nursing Consultant & Expert witness in February 2019.

Joan Love
MSc, HDip, N.F.E.S.C., R.G.N.

KIRA ADAMS

Associate Legal Nurse Consultant & Expert Witness
H.Dip. Palliative Care, R.G.N.

Kira Adams is a Registered General Nurse, Associate Legal Nurse Consultant and Expert Witness with 28 years’ nursing experience across acute hospital, community, palliative care and home healthcare settings.

Kira has held a range of senior clinical, specialist and nursing management roles, including Assistant Director of Nursing with Hibernian Healthcare at Home, Clinical Nurse Manager III with Blackrock Hospice and Clinical Nurse Specialist in Community Palliative Care.

Her experience includes clinical nursing practice, nursing management, patient assessment, clinical governance, staff education and training, audit, quality improvement, complaints management and patient safety. She has also been involved in internal and external audit processes, including NSAI audit and ISO 9001 accreditation.

Kira has extensive experience in palliative and end-of-life care, community nursing, home healthcare, general medical and surgical nursing, Accident and Emergency and Intensive Care nursing. She has also worked in nursing education and has acted as a Clinical Facilitator and mentor to nurses undertaking postgraduate education in palliative care and oncology nursing.

Medico-Legal Experience

Kira commenced her training in Legal Nurse Consultancy and Expert Witness practice in 2021 and has since undertaken relevant training and professional development while working as an Associate with JL Legal Nursing Consulting Services Ltd.

She has developed experience in the medico-legal review and analysis of healthcare records and nursing care and now undertakes instructed Nursing Breach of Duty/Liability, Causation and Cost of Care reports in her own right as an Associate Legal Nurse Consultant.

Kira’s extensive clinical and senior nursing management background enables her to provide an objective and evidence-based analysis of nursing care, with particular expertise in:

• Palliative and end-of-life care
• Community nursing and home healthcare
• General medical and surgical nursing
• Nursing assessment and care planning
• Clinical governance and nursing management
• Nursing documentation and record keeping
• Patient safety and quality of care
• Staffing, supervision and allocation of nursing resources
• Clinical education, audit and quality improvement

Kira brings extensive clinical experience together with senior-level knowledge of nursing standards, clinical governance, patient safety and the professional responsibilities of nurses and nursing management.