IIOHNS Invited Speaker SeriesThe Future of ENT - Delivering More for Less
Professor Taranjit S. Tatla, President ENT-UK
The Irish Institute of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (IIOHNS) exists to represent, support and advance the speciality of ENT surgery on the island of Ireland. Through its Invited Speaker Series, the Institute brings leading international voices in ENT to Dublin, giving consultant members and trainees at every stage of training direct access to the ideas shaping the specialty's future.
On Friday 21 August 2026, IIOHNS welcomed as its latest guest to RCSI, 118 St Stephen's Green, for a lecture entitled The Future of ENT - Delivering More for Less. The evening's Guest Speaker was Professor Taranjit S. Tatla, President of ENT UK and Consultant ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust.
ENT UK is the professional membership body for otolaryngologists and ENT surgeons across the United Kingdom, and under Professor Tatla's presidency has placed particular emphasis on innovation, sustainability and equitable access to ear, nose and throat care. His visit to Dublin reflects the close and enduring relationship between ENT UK and IIOHNS, and the shared commitment of both organisations to advancing surgical training and patient care across these islands.
The meeting was well attended, bringing together consultant members of IIOHNS alongside ORL-HNS trainees at both junior and senior level, a turnout that underlined the appetite among Ireland's ENT community for engagement with international colleagues. The Institute was represented on the evening by President Professor Rory McConn Walsh, Honorary Secretary Professor Camilla Carroll and Treasurer Mr Michael Harney, with Professor Tatla accompanied by his wife, Ms Sanjeeta Tatla, a Community Pharmacist, whose own perspective on primary care and medicines access added a valuable complementary dimension to the evening's discussions.
Among the projects Professor Tatla highlighted was "OCTIEar", an initiative translating optical coherence tomography (OCT) ear examination into a practical community diagnostic tool. The concept pairs handheld otoscopic OCT hardware with real-time machine learning, moving beyond the inherent subjectivity of conventional otoscopy so that non-specialist clinicians in primary care or Community Diagnostic Centres can accurately quantify middle ear effusions, biofilms and structural abnormalities. This research was undertaken at the Imperial College Hamlyn Centre, which is the state-of-the-art Innovation and Research Centre chaired by Lord Sir Ara Darzi.
Implementation of CEEK rests on four pillars: portable, low-cost, single-operator handheld OCT devices suited to point-of-care use. CEEK utilises state-of-the-art embedded machine-learning classifiers that deliver consistent, user-invariant interpretation of middle ear pathology. It is currently integrated alongside existing Community ENT Models of Care to triage otitis media, reduce unnecessary hospital referral and support antibiotic stewardship.
Professor Tatla extended this thinking to low- and middle-income countries, where the same combination of portable hardware and AI-assisted interpretation offers a route to accurate ear-disease diagnosis in settings that lack specialist otolaryngology provision altogether - a resource-light, scalable model with genuine potential to close a significant global gap in ear care.
Professor Tatla's presentation generated a lively discussion, and participants engaged Professor Tatla on the practicalities of deploying such technology within both the Irish health system and lower-resource settings internationally. The evening was judged an unqualified success: a stimulating scientific programme, a warm exchange between two national ENT communities, and a welcome reminder of the value the Invited Speaker Series continues to bring to IIOHNS members.
The Institute looks forward to building on the connections made and to welcoming Professor Tatla, and colleagues from ENT UK, back to Dublin in the future.
Our thanks to Prof. Camilla Carroll for submitting this report.
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports a continuing rise in cocaine use, especially over the past decade. Widespread adulteration of cocaine and higher purities are producing more extensive local destruction and increasing systemic complications beyond the simple nasal perforations historically seen.
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In the time of COVID-19, resumption of outpatient services in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (hereby referred to as ORL-HNS) will require new ways of working in order to deliver safe, timely, accessible, cost-effective and efficient care. The guidance detailed in this document should be followed in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the patients receiving care, as well as clerical and clinical staff involved in the delivery of ORL-HNS outpatient services in Ireland.
Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery
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