Crumlin Hospital award winners launch this year’s competition

THE team at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin that won a prestigious healthcare award last year has encouraged their colleagues in the sector to enter this year’s competition.

The 2015 Irish Healthcare Awards are officially open for entries and all those working in the health sector in Dublin have been urged 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.

Dr Orla Killeen, Consultant Paediatric Rheumatologist at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, ran the team that won the overall prize at the 2014 awards for its Young Adolescents with Rheumatic Diseases (YARD) Clinic.

“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,

? she said.

“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.

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, November 5 in the Shelbourne Hotel.

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. The closing date for submissions is Friday, August 21.