Phelim was appointed Chief Executive of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) on 26 November 2014.
He joined HIQA as Director of Regulation and Chief Inspector of Social Services on 1 November 2012. He has 40 years’ experience working in health and social care services in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Phelim comes from a nursing background, with qualifications and experience in mental health, emergency department and community, public health nursing. Prior to joining HIQA, he held a number of senior management positions in Northern Ireland’s health and social care system. They included commissioning of health and social care services as Chief Nurse in one of the former commissioning boards and as Director of Regulation in the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).
As HIQA CEO, Phelim has overseen on the strategic development and execution of regulation and quality improvement programmes across health and social care services as well as the expansion of HIQA’s functions in the areas of HTA, Health Information and the National Care Experience Programme. More recently, Phelim has worked within HIQA and in conjunction with other agencies to develop best practice in adult safeguarding, and in the promotion of human rights based care in regulated services.