Dermod de la Chevallerie MacCarthy FRCP (15 March 1911 – 12 July 1986) was a British paediatrician, notable for establishing a paediatric unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and conducting research into common disturbances in childhood and growth in deprived children.

During World War II, Geoffroy-Dechaume joined the French Resistance and was awarded the Croix-de-Guerre for heroism in her active service against the enemy.

In 1942, he joined the Royal Naval Reserve and served as a surgeon, with the rank of Lieutenant, continuing to hold a commission until 1946.

[2] MacCarthy's main contribution to paediatrics was made in the 1950s, when a movement arose to enable parents to visit their children in hospital, when they were convalescing.

This movement was launched by a paper written by the paediatrician James Spence called The Care of Children in Hospital[3] in which he argued that the parent should nurse and feel responsible for the child patient's recovery.