Dated - July 1, 2015
14th Irish Healthcare Awards now open for entries
Wednesday 1st July, 2015: The 2015 Irish Healthcare Awards are officially open for entries and calling on all those working in the health sector to send in their submissions. The prestigious Awards, now in their 14th year, recognise and celebrate excellence in healthcare and honour individuals and institutions that contribute to patient care all over Ireland.
Hosted by Irish Medical Times, the annual gala is an important event on the healthcare calendar and gives guests an opportunity to pay tribute to projects and individuals who make a positive difference to the provision of healthcare in Ireland. As master of ceremonies, broadcaster Ivan Yates will present the Awards on Thursday 5th November in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin.
Speaking at the launch of the call for entries, Dr Orla Killeen, Consultant Paediatric Rheumatologist, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, whose team won the overall prize at the 2014 Awards for its Young Adolescents with Rheumatic Diseases (YARD) Clinic, said: “It was a very memorable evening when we won best Outpatient Initiative and the overall An Duais Mhór award, and it was a very uplifting experience for the whole team. The awards recognised how important YARD is to the Irish health service and it was uplifting to receive a nationwide response from colleagues and healthcare assistants keen to engage not only directly with our service, but also to emulate this clinic for other chronic disorders that affect adolescents and young people. I highly recommend entering the Irish Healthcare Awards as they are a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness for the invaluable work and incredible innovation that takes place every day in the health and medical sector.”
Developed by the National Centre for Paediatric Rheumatology at Crumlin Hospital, in association with St Vincent’s University Hospital, the YARD is a project aimed at helping adolescents and young people transfer from paediatric to adult services.
The Irish Healthcare Awards celebrate every area of healthcare, including health service delivery, education, public health, patient support, clinical research and pharmaceutical innovation. They are designed to recognise the very best individuals and teams working in acute and primary care, education and training, the private sector, patient organisations and health IT. The distinguished panel of highly-respected judges reward innovation, excellence and achievement that have made a positive contribution to patient care.
The Award’s charity partner this year is the Laura Lynn Hospice for terminally ill children, which will benefit from funds raised during the gala.
Each year the Awards continue to expand and adapt to reflect the changing health landscape in Ireland and for 2015 a new category has been introduced. The Best Sustainable Healthcare Project will recognise creative solutions that drive greater efficiencies within the healthcare system whilst simultaneously improving patient outcomes.
The Awards also acknowledge the role of those who have paved the way for medical practice in Ireland with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This highly regarded award is presented to a doctor who, in the view of colleagues or patients, has made an outstanding contribution to Irish medicine during his or her career. In 2014, Cork paediatric surgeon Prof Barry O’Donnell was presented with the award for his massive contribution to shaping Irish and world surgery.
This year, a new website has been created to make the submission process more convenient and entries can be uploaded easily to www.irishhealthcareawards.ie. The website also allows guests to book tables for the event and browse previous winners. The closing date for submissions is Friday 21st August.
David Kelly, Publisher of IMT and MIMS Ireland, said: “Irish Medical Times is very proud to once again host the Irish Healthcare Awards, recognised as Ireland’s pre-eminent honours in the area of health and medicine. We are delighted to partner with Laura Lynn Hospice this year to support the incredibly worthy assistance they provide to terminally ill children. We hope that the awards continue to evolve and expand each year and that our new website will make the submission process easier for all entries, with the award ceremony information in one dedicated place.”
Submissions can be entered in any of the 17 categories and are welcomed from all areas of the health sector, with an overall prize awarded to an outstanding project chosen from the individual categories. For more information and to submit an entry into the 2015 Irish Healthcare Awards visit www.irishhealthcareawards.ie or contact Wayne Leitch, MPI Media, Merchants Hall, 25 Merchants’ Quay, Dublin 8. Tel: (01) 817 6330 / email: wayne.leitch@imt.ie . To download an entry brochure please visit www.imt.ie.
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For further information please contact FleishmanHillard:
Serena Leyden, 01-6188461 or 087-1379138 or serena.leyden@fleishmaneurope.com
Notes to editors:
Twitter hashtag: #IrishHealthcareAwards
Judging panel:
The judging panel for the awards is made up of Mr Stephen McMahon, CEO, Irish Patients’ Association; Dr Dermot Power, Consultant Geriatrician, Mater Hospital; Mr David Keyes, President, The Pharmaceutical Managers’ Institute of Ireland; Mr Dara Gantly, Editor, Irish Medical Times; Dr Muiris Houston, Medical Journalist, The Irish Times; and Dr Ellen O’Sullivan, Consultant Anaesthetist, St James’s Hospital.
Categories:
- Best Education Project – General Practice/ Pharmacy
- Best Public Health Initiative
- Best Use of Information Technology
- Excellence in Healthcare Management
- Nursing Project of the Year
- Best Patient Education Project – Non-Pharmaceutical
- Patient Organisation Project of the Year
- Student Project of the Year
- Research Paper of the Year
- Best Patient Lifestyle Education Project
- Best Educational Meeting
- Outpatient Initiative of the Year
- Best Patient Education Project – Pharmaceutical
- Best Hospital Project
- Best Pharmaceutical Marketing Campaign
- Best Sustainable Healthcare Project
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- An Duais Mhór