In the latest instalment of our weekly guide to the 2013 Building Better Healthcare Awards, we move from the Building Design class to the Products class.
And this year the judges have bolstered the category in an effort to recognise the huge amount of innovation that is currently being demonstrated within the sector.
There are three awards up for grabs within this category - Best Health Technology Product , Best Medical Device , and Best Building Product .
All three awards will be presented to outstanding products that are helping to improve productivity and patient safety and/or enhance treatment pathways. Entries must relate to new products that were launched onto the UK market between 1 January 2012 and 1 June 2013. If the product is not entirely new, then the entry must show how it substantially and significantly improves on the original concept.
The award for Best Health Technology Product covers, but is not restricted to, healthcare IT solutions and apps, assistive technologies such as telecare and telehealth devices, medical monitoring systems, mobile devices, computers and printers.
This year there is also an award for Best Building Product . This covers all products that are integral to the building itself, such as fixtures, fittings, flooring, cladding, wall and ceiling materials, room dividers etc. This category will also cover all furniture.
The third category is for Best Medical Device . This is for strictly non-intrusive medical devices, i.e. those that do not need the strictest Class IIb or Class III EU regulatory approval. The award does cover, but is not restricted to, equipment for patient care, transportation or moving and general equipment and supplies.The equipment must have been in use in clinical settings, independently evaluated and registered with the MHRA where applicable.
Entries will be welcomed from companies both in the UK and overseas provided the products concerned are available and approved for sale on the UK market.
The judges will be looking primarily for a design or idea that responds to current/future needs in a creative manner. The products must enable or significantly encourage improvements or alterations to the way healthcare services are provided or delivered to enhance productivity and/or improve patient outcomes or to enhance the patient experience. They must also work well within the therapeutic environment and embody an innovative and creative approach to design. In addition the judges will be looking for evidence of input from patients and healthcare professionals into the final solutions.
Entries will need to sum up the impact of the product in 500 words or less, being sure to address how it meets the criteria the judges have set out for the specific category. Click here for the criteria for these awards. Scroll down the page to the green category headings, then click for the individual criteria for each award.
This overview of your entry is your chance to grab the attention of our judges. Therefore, failure to cover all of the points laid out in the criteria could result in your entry not making the shortlist. The judges can only make their decision based on the information you put in front of them.
The written entry for this category should be accompanied by images clearly illustrating the idea behind the product and its design.
Previous winners of the Products class have included the KwikScreen portable screen from Teal Furniture and the Green Badge hand hygiene system from Veraz.
KwikScreen is a portable screen that improves productivity and patient safety by creating an environment of isolation or segregation around a patient or bed space. It enables healthcare workers to create additional space and can be used to deliver extra isolation areas for infected patients, as well as segregation between men, women, different age groups and different clinical specialities. It is already being used in 60 NHS trusts in the UK and in a total of eight countries around the world.
When choosing it as a winner in 2012, the judges commented: “Curtains are a mess, - nurses tear them, and they fall off. This is an extremely good alternative. This isn’t a pipedream, but a product that has already been used by more than 60 trusts in the short time since it was launched. The manufacturer has also looked at the economics and worked out the financial productivity savings it provides trusts, rather than just saying it’s a nice idea compared to what currently exists.”
This is the sort of technology the judges will be looking for in this year’s Best Building Product category.
The Green Badge from Veraz is a novel system that informs staff whether a hand wash is required, and the quality of the wash or gel used. The innovation was designed in conjunction with staff and patients at NHS trusts in the North of England and a clinical trial revealed it was widely accepted by staff, alleviated the need for physical observation audits, and improved hand hygiene compliance from 22% to 66% immediately after deployment.
The judges said: “It is a good example of what patients want to see, and that is clinical staff washing their hands. With this innovation patients learn really quickly if doctors and nurses have not washed their hands.”
This year, this device would be welcomed as an entry in the Best Health Technology Product category.
The Derby Door is a perfect example of the products the judges will be looking for in 2013
In 2011 the winners included the Derby Door, an inflatable barrier that fits flush against walls and ceilings within hospital wards, forming a complete seal and enabling staff to carry out decontamination work in the event of an outbreak of infection such as C.difficile or norovirus.
Jon Wilks, head judge in the Products class, said of the Derby Door, which was the brainchild of Paul Brooks, head of facilities management at Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: “This ticked an awful lot of boxes in terms of application and was produced cheaply, effectively and intuitively. Instead of coming up with a product and trying to sell it to the NHS, this was a member of staff who had seen a problem and had come up with a solution.”
Altro Digiclad’s wall coverings were also among the successful entrants in 2011, with entire rooms being transformed through the unlimited use of colour, texture and images printed onto PVC cladding, creating themed focal points that are lightfast, antibacterial and low maintenance, even in busy clinical areas.
With the new categories for 2013 both the Derby Door and Altro Digiclad would be welcomed for nomination for the Best Building Product award.
Do you think you have a product that could qualify for one of these awards? If so, click here to read more about this year’s event and all the categories, and to submit your entry. The closing date is 28 June and each entry costs just £99 plus VAT. You can enter as many categories as you wish, but entries must be adapted to suit the particular category being entered.
Altro Digiclad was one of the winners in the Product class in 2011
Click here to see all the winners from 2012 and the reasons they were singled out for praise by our judges.
If you need further help or advice on your entry call Jo Makosinski on 020 7193 8083 or email jom@hpcimedia.com. There are also some exciting opportunities to sponsor awards and to exhibit at the champagne reception that will be held prior to the awards ceremony. To discuss a tailor-made package, or to book your seat at the ceremony, contact Stephen Fontana by email at stephenf@hpcimedia.com or call 020 7193 1641; or Ali Badr alib@hpcimedia.com or call 020 7193 6654.
Best of luck!