Quality in Healthcare Awards

QUALITY IN HEALTHCARE ACT AWARDS 2019

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the 2019 Quality in Healthcare Awards ACT!

The Quality in Healthcare ACT Awards were held on Wednesday 4 December 2019 highlighting the dedication of individuals and teams who make significant positive contributions to the health sector. 

Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA handed out the awards this year, in doing so she said, 

“The Awards are a testament to the innovations that are emerging in patient safety and quality of care. And the entries for these Quality Awards are a testament of the dedication and commitment of health staff in the ACT region.”

And without further ado, the winners are:

The 2019 OVERALL WINNER is: Amanda Boers, Amy Price, Sharon Madsen, Dr Chris Katsogiannis and Peta McDonnell from Canberra Health Services for their project ‘Reducing the incidence of Hospital Acquired Urinary Tract Infections in Rehabilitation at Canberra Health Services’. 

Quality Awards - Overall
Caption: 2019 overall winners pictured with Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA

Category winners:

PERSON-CENTRED: Sarah Mosslar, Denise Carter, Julianne Nissen, Arwa Hadid - Maternity Unit, Centenary Hospital for Women & Children, Canberra Health Services for their program ‘Childbirth classes in languages other than English to increase attendance of non-English speaking women’.

Quality Awards - Person centred
Caption: Person-centred winners pictured with Kate Gorman, Health Care Consumers’ Association ACT

SAFETY: Amanda Boers, Amy Price, Sharon Madsen, Dr Chris Katsogiannis, Peta McDonnell – University of Canberra Hospital & Quality Safety Innovation and Improvement, Canberra Health Services for their project ‘Reducing the incidence of Hospital Acquired Urinary Tract Infections in Rehabilitation at Canberra Health Services’. 

Quality Awards - Safety
Caption: Safety and overall winners pictured with Bernadette McDonald, Chief Executive Officer, Canberra Health Services

EFFECTIVENESS: Varuna Banga, Katie Goodsell, Joelie Parker, Margot Green, Katrina Rasheed, Cath Young, Sue Langdon, Vince Marzano, Domenico Tripodi, Leanne Pagett, Rebecca Cesnik - Allied Health and Cancer and Ambulatory Support Services, Canberra Health Services for their ‘Move It Program - Keeping cancer patients moving improves their hospital experience’. 

Quality Awards - Effectiveness
Caption: Effectiveness winners pictured with Michael De’Ath, Director General, ACT Health Directorate

EFFICIENCY: Alison Smith, Emmett McKenna, Rosalie Poesiat, Vivien Horton, Margot Green, Kerry Boyd, Sam Lazarus (Acute Allied Health Services), Dr Hari Bandi (Department of Neurosurgery), Dr Chandima Perera (Department of Rheumatology), Canberra Health Services for their program ‘Back on Track - Spinal Pain Service - Helping individuals and specialist services to manage spinal pain’.

Quality Awards - Efficiency
Caption: Efficiency winners pictured with Barb Reid, Regional Chief Executive Officer, Calvary Health Care ACT

STUDENT: Olivia Padley, The Australian National University Medical School for her project on the ‘Implementation of the Newborn Sepsis Calculator in an Australian Maternity and Tertiary Neonatal Department’.

Quality Awards - Student
Caption: Student winner Olivia Padley pictured with Professor Imogen Mitchell, Director, ANU Medical School

The selection panel consisted of representatives from Health Care Consumers’ Association, Calvary Health Care, ACT Health, Australian National University, Public Health Association of Australia, Capital Health Network and National Capital Private Hospital. The judges remarked on the high standard of this year’s submissions and the projects and people involved, noting that the ACT community can be assured of the ongoing high quality of care, innovation and dedication offered in the region.

About the award categories

There are five categories and one overall winner:

Person-centred – focuses on how well an individual or team co-designs care and treatment with patients, consumers and carers, including initiatives to improve the patient or staff experience.

Safety category – focuses on reductions in harm, and improvements in processes to deliver enhanced patient safety.

Effectiveness – focuses on evidence-based practices that deliver benefits and improvements to patients.

Efficiency – promotes new developments and methods to avoid waste, including waste of equipment, supplies, time and energy.

Student – focuses on initiatives and improvements led by health sector students. 

The awards are open to all health sector employees in the ACT, including:

  • clinical staff
  • administrative personnel
  • community-based organisations
  • private facilities
  • public facilities
  • students studying a health-related discipline in the ACT.
Page last updated on: 9 Dec 2019