03 Profile
Vital Signsby Bridgehead
Hansard to 11 November 2026 · 31,429 contributions indexed · 1,439 MPs & peers
All voices01 Voice · Academic · Mental health
Siobhan O'Neill: no photograph is held, so the academic plate is shown instead.
Academic
Siobhan O'Neill
Professor; Northern Ireland's Mental Health Champion
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July 2026Aug 2026Sept 2026Oct 2026Nov 2026to date
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press citations on 2 topics since 30 Jul 2026 · last quoted 5 Nov 2026
02 Quoted on · 2 of 29 topics
Siobhan O'Neill: key facts
- Kind of voice
- Academic
- Role
- Professor; Northern Ireland's Mental Health Champion
- Quoted on
- Mental health, NHS & care workforce/staffing
- Tracked press citations
- 8
- Most recently quoted
- 5 Nov 2026
- First quoted
- 30 Jul 2026
04 The signal · where Siobhan O'Neill sits on mental health
Ranked 6= of 100 voices quoted in the press on mental health, level with 3 others on 7 citations.
Ranked on press citations on this topic only, not across all topics. Joint positions share a rank.
- 1
Professor Peter FonagyAcademicProfessor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Developmental Science; Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (UCL)40 - 2
Dr Sarah HughesSector leaderChief Executive, Mind (The National Association for Mental Health)13 - 3Dr Sam JonesClinicianOfficer for Mental Health, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)12
- 5
Sir Simon WesselyAcademicRegius Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London10 - 6=
Dr Ronny CheungClinicianOfficer for Health Services (also Member Trustee); consultant general paediatrician, Evelina London Children's Hospital; Deputy Chief Medical Officer (improvement), Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)7 - 6=Siobhan O'NeillAcademicProfessor; Northern Ireland's Mental Health Champion7
- 6=
Dr Adrian JamesRegulatorNational Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, NHS England7 - 6=Marjorie WallaceSector leaderchief executive of mental health charity SANE7
Showing the leaders and the ranks around 6=, of 100 voices · See every voice on the topic →
05 On the record · press
What Siobhan O'Neill has said
By outlet · linked articles
- belfasttelegraph.co.uk3
- derryjournal.com2
- 4ni.co.uk1
- bbc.com1
- irishnews.com1
Where Siobhan O'Neill has been quoted
- 01Mental health champion calls on Stormont to stop 'squandering money'irishnews.com · 5 Nov 2026
- 02Prof. Siobhán O'Neill warns Stormont spending committee of 'severe' pressures on mental health servicesderryjournal.com · 5 Nov 2026
- 03'Life for many young people can feel like a balancing act': Youth mental health campaign launched as NI funding shortfall is laid barebelfasttelegraph.co.uk · 4 Nov 2026
- 04Major Study Reveals What Works In Peacebuilding4ni.co.uk · 12 Oct 2026
- 05Mental Health Champion warns new school curriculum could harm pupil wellbeing and seeks independent reviewbelfasttelegraph.co.uk · 5 Oct 2026
- 06Prof. Siobhán O'Neill tells Derry council 'significantly higher' suicidal ideation rate a cause of concernderryjournal.com · 23 Sept 2026
- 07'Some of these guys wouldn't be here' if not for football chatsbbc.com · 17 Aug 2026
- 08Western Trust's 75pc psychiatrist vacancy rate having 'profound impact' in some of NI's most deprived areasbelfasttelegraph.co.uk · 30 Jul 2026
Verbatim
“The cost of inaction extends beyond public expenditure to avoidable crisis, delayed recovery, lost economic participation and the suffering of people unable to access the help they need.”
“The pressures are already severe. In March 2025 all of the Trusts had bed occupancy of 100 per cent against a recommended maximum of 85 per cent and the Western Trust reached 123 per cent at one point”
“Life for many young people can feel like a balancing act -- juggling school, family, friends, fitting in, the list going on”
“What makes this study so important is that we were able to measure changes in skills and attitudes linked to both wellbeing and peacebuilding.”
“a full independent review of the impact of the proposals on pupil mental health and wellbeing, including neurodivergent children and young people, which incorporates the views of health experts and young people themselves”
“It is significantly higher. A lot of these cases will be people who are taken by emergency services from a location. These are missed opportunities to deliver suicide prevention care, and there are interventions that will work for this group.”
“If we introduced that type of model into Northern Ireland, we would save £9m every year.”
“The impact on care is profound; service users can experience long waiting lists, a lack of continuity of care, and Trusts need to bring in locums at an elevated cost.”
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics, not necessarily citing them directly.
- NHS Grampian apologises after report finds 'serious weaknesses' affecting patient safetyheraldscotland.com
- 'Recruitment agencies must demonstrate they are doing things properly'yorkshirepost.co.uk
- Sports pilot launched in Essex to improve men's health and wellbeingclactonandfrintongazette.co.uk
Professors, researchers and think-tank analysts quoted on the strength of their research rather than a clinical role. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 13 Nov 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.