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01  Voice · Clinician · Children's health

Clinician

Dr Thomas Bourke

Officer for Ireland, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health; Clinical Academic Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)

Press coverage by month · bar height shows relative volume
Dec 2025Jan 2026FebMarAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovto date
Also cited

Quoted in the press on 1 topic since 4 Dec 2025

Where their coverage sitsLower 50%

Voices are sorted into four fixed groups by how much press coverage they have had across all topics, from the top 5% down to the lower half. The lit step is Dr Thomas Bourke’s group.

LONDON
OfficeRoyal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), London, WC1X 8SHRoyal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is based in Holborn and St Pancras (London): the organisation’s base, not a personal address.

02  Quoted on · 1 of 29 topics

Open the topic

Dr Thomas Bourke: key facts

Kind of voice
Clinician
Role
Officer for Ireland, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health; Clinical Academic Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
Organisation
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)
Organisation based in
Holborn and St Pancras
Quoted on
Children's health
Press coverage
Also cited
Most recently quoted
8 Sept 2026
First quoted
4 Dec 2025

03  Profile

Who Dr Thomas Bourke is

Dr Thomas Bourke is RCPCH Officer for Ireland, a post he has held since March 2025. In that role he represents members in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at RCPCH Council, chairs the College's Ireland Committee and co-chairs the All-Ireland Paediatric Committee.

He is also a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics at Queen's University Belfast and a Clinical Academic Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. He graduated from UCD in 2000 and trained in Ireland, Australia and the UK. His earlier roles include membership of the Northern Ireland regional scrutiny committee, expert adviser to NICE, and RCPCH trainee, safeguarding and medicines committee roles.

As RCPCH spokesperson he has said that Northern Ireland's child health findings in the State of Child Health 2026 briefing are a 'wake-up call'. He has also called for an anti-poverty strategy and a full review of the child health system.

Notable achievements

  1. 01

    Appointed RCPCH Officer for Ireland in March 2025, joining RCPCH Council in May 2025 Source ↗

  2. 02

    Chaired the RCPCH 'Workforce Issues and Solutions in Paediatrics' workshop on the Northern Ireland paediatric workforce Source ↗

  3. 03

    His Queen's University Belfast doctoral research on improving diagnosis of meningitis and blood infection was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases Source ↗

04  The signal · where Dr Thomas Bourke sits on children's health

Leading

One of the voices most often quoted in the press on children's health.

Placed by press coverage on this topic only, not across all topics.

  1. Dr Helen Stewart portraitDr Helen StewartClinicianOfficer for Health Improvement (and Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Sheffield Children's Hospital), Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)Leading
  2. Dr Mike McKeanClinicianVice-president for policy of the RCPCHLeading
  3. Lynn Woolsey portraitLynn WoolseyUnionChief Nursing Officer, Royal College of NursingLeading
  4. Dr David Capehorn portraitDr David CapehornClinicianGP with Extended Role (GPwER) in Paediatrics; Honorary Associate Specialist and GP Lead, Emergency Department, Bristol Children's Hospital, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (Bristol Children's Hospital)Leading
  5. Dr Lynn MacleodAcademicRCPCH Officer for ScotlandLeading
  6. Dr Thomas Bourke portraitDr Thomas BourkeClinicianOfficer for Ireland, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health; Clinical Academic Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)Leading
  7. Steph Lawrence portraitSteph LawrenceSector leaderChief Executive, The Queen's Institute of Community Nursing (QICN, formerly the Queen's Nursing Institute)Leading
  8. Hilary Cass portraitHilary CassClinicianMember of the House of Lords (crossbench life peer); paediatricianLeading

Showing the leading voices and those placed around Dr Thomas Bourke · See every voice on the topic →

05  On the record · press

What Dr Thomas Bourke has said

By outlet · bar length shows relative volume
  • bbc.co.uk
  • belfastlive.co.uk
  • belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  • news.sky.com
  • newsletter.co.uk

Where Dr Thomas Bourke has been quoted

  1. NI has highest infant mortality rate in UK, paediatricians warnnewsletter.co.uk · 8 Sept 2026
  2. Northern Ireland has highest infant mortality rate in UK, say paediatriciansnews.sky.com · 8 Sept 2026
  3. NI has highest infant mortality rate in UK, doctors warnrte.ie · 8 Sept 2026
  4. Northern Ireland has highest infant mortality rate in UK, paediatricians warnbelfasttelegraph.co.uk · 7 Sept 2026
  5. NI has highest infant mortality rate in UK, paediatricians warnbelfastlive.co.uk · 7 Sept 2026
  6. Children hit hardest as flu cases in Northern Ireland surgebbc.co.uk · 4 Dec 2025

How we found the articles that name Dr Thomas Bourke: we searched news for these terms.

  • children's health
  • paediatric
  • child health
  • children's hospital
  • infant mortality

Also searched with “children's health” in each of 8 national papers, and in the Guardian by editor tag, and in trade press by category. Every term for Children's health

Verbatim

“The findings in this briefing should be a wake-up call for everyone in Northern Ireland.”
Dr, RCPCH officer for Ireland · Children's health · newsletter.co.uk · 8 Sept 2026 · Read the article
“The findings in this briefing should be a wake-up call for everyone in Northern Ireland. Across a range of key indicators, from infant mortality and obesity to mental health and vaccination uptake, we are seeing evidence that too many children are being let down.”
RCPCH officer for Ireland · Children's health · news.sky.com · 8 Sept 2026 · Read the article
“The findings in this briefing should be a wake-up call for everyone in Northern Ireland. Across a range of key indicators, from infant mortality and obesity to mental health and vaccination uptake, we are seeing evidence that too many children are being let down.”
RCPCH officer for Ireland · Children's health · rte.ie · 8 Sept 2026 · Read the article
“The findings in this briefing should be a wake-up call for everyone in Northern Ireland.”
Dr, RCPCH officer for Ireland · Children's health · belfasttelegraph.co.uk · 7 Sept 2026 · Read the article
“The findings in this briefing should be a wake-up call for everyone in Northern Ireland.”
Dr, RCPCH officer for Ireland · Children's health · belfastlive.co.uk · 7 Sept 2026 · Read the article
“Last year 862 children and young people were admitted to hospital with influenza in Northern Ireland. He added data from southern hemisphere countries, which have already had their flu season, suggests there could be even more admissions this year.”
Consultant paediatrician at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health officer for Ireland · Children's health · bbc.co.uk · 4 Dec 2025 · Read the article

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics, not necessarily citing them directly.

06  Sources

References for this biography

  1. Dr Thomas Bourke is the new RCPCH Officer for Ireland. Appointment, dual QUB and Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children roles, and earlier NHS, NICE and RCPCH roles
  2. RCPCH Ireland Officer and Deputy Officer. Officer since March 2025; duties include chairing the regional committee, co-chairing the All-Ireland Paediatric Committee, advising the NI Department of Health, and speaking to the media
  3. RCPCH Ireland. RCPCH Ireland general enquiries email and phone lines; the RCPCH address at 5-11 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8SH
  4. Ireland Committee. He chairs the RCPCH Ireland Committee as Officer for Ireland
  5. Dr Thomas Bourke - Kingsbridge Private Hospital. Qualifications, UCD graduation in 2000, training in Ireland, Australia and the UK, and his QUB doctoral research in The Lancet Infectious Diseases
  6. Children's health in Northern Ireland in 'shocking decline' warn paediatricians. His public comments on the State of Child Health 2026 Northern Ireland briefing
  7. Northern Ireland has highest infant mortality rate in UK, paediatricians warn - Q Radio. Press coverage quoting him as RCPCH officer for Ireland
  8. RCPCH responds to Public Health Agency's Children's Health in Northern Ireland 2023/24 report. His comments on childhood obesity and child poverty, and his call for an anti-poverty strategy and a child health system review
  9. Research, advocacy and learning - President's update. He chaired the paediatric workforce workshop on Northern Ireland

07  Contact & links

Staff page
rcpch.ac.uk/membership/regions/northern-ireland-republic-ireland-college-regions
Press office email
enquiries.ireland@rcpch.ac.ukpublished here ↗
Press office phone
028 9693 6901published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.

Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other registered clinicians quoted in a clinical capacity. 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 12 Nov 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.