McLean, Dr. Sarah

Speciality: Palliative Medicine
Practice: Suite 15, Blackrock Clinic

Secretary:
Clinic Times: Wednesday am
Telephone: 087 397 6836
Fax:
Email: sarah.mclean@blackrock-clinic.com

Special Interests

• The pharmacological management of cancer-related pain;
• The management of breathlessness in the setting of COPD, heart failure, pulmonary fibrosis, and cancer;
• The management of a wide range of physical symptoms; spiritual distress; and complex psychosocial issues; in patients with life-limiting illness;
• The challenging needs of older people with life-limiting illness;
• The support needs and bereavement outcomes of family caregivers;
• Outcome measurement in palliative care.

Professional Profile

Dr McLean is an honours graduate of Trinity College Dublin, and completed higher specialist training in palliative medicine in Ireland, and an MSc in Palliative Care and Policy in King’s College London. She went on to undertake research on the use of methadone for the management of cancer pain in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She returned to Ireland to take up a consultant post in Beaumont Hospital and St Francis Hospice Dublin in 2016, prior to commencing private practice in the Blackrock Clinic in 2019.

Dr McLean has published and taught widely on her areas of interest. She has led on the development of national and local clinical guidelines; the development of innovative methods of delivering palliative care in the non-specialist setting; and the implementation of outcome measurement in palliative care.

In line with current evidence, she is an advocate of the early integration of palliative care in the care of patients with life-limiting illnesses. She works closely with the multi-disciplinary team and takes a holistic approach to the care of patients and their families, from the point of diagnosis onwards.

Research Interests

• The use of methadone for the management of complex cancer related pain;
• The bereavement outcomes of family caregivers;
• Outcome measurement in palliative care.

Current Membership

• Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
• Irish Association of Palliative Medicine
• Association of Palliative Medicine of the UK and Ireland
• Irish Palliative Medicine Consultants Association