Building Better Healthcare Awards

Building Better Healthcare Awards 2017 - Guide to the Products Class

Published: 17-Mar-2017

Do you have an innovative product that is enhancing the healthcare environment?

This year, the Building Better Healthcare Awards, continues to recognise the efforts of innovative manufacturers and suppliers, with a total of seven trophies up for grabs in the hugely-popular Product class.

This year the Product awards have been designed to reflect the key challenges facing the health and social care sector. For example, the judges are looking for products and other innovations that are helping trusts to meet the Government’s demands for a paperless NHS.

There is a particular focus on IT solutions generally, with four categories to enter.

The first is the award for Best Communications System. This will cover solutions such as nurse call systems, sensors and alarms, wayfinding solutions, digital appointment reminders, and telecoms systems.

Then there is the award for Best Administrative System. This recognises the great efforts innovative companies are going to to help the NHS meet its paperless challenge and replace time-consuming manual tasks with digital solutions.

The judges will be looking for solutions that enhance back-office functions, improve administration, or collect or store information which can be used to further improve services.

The third award is for Best Healthcare App. This will recognise a digital application that can be accessed from smart devices and which is helping to enhance health and wellbeing or bring about efficiencies, for example by improving tracking of a disease, medication adherence, general health and wellbeing, exercise or smoking cessation.

Lastly, there is the Award for Best IT Security Solution. This will recognise a digital application that enhances security within IT and communication systems. This can include data protection solutions, systems to prevent malware and cyber attacks, and user authentication solutions.

But it is not all about the switch to digital solutions. This year the Product Class will also recognise other products that are helping to enhance health and care environments.

The Award for Best Interior Building Product is open to any building product, including, but not restricted to, wall, door, window and flooring solutions; cladding; acoustic panels; roofing and ceilings; and radiation panels – anything that represents a new, or vastly-improved solution to a recognised issue within the sector.

And there is an Award for Best Exterior Product. This will cover building products such as cladding solutions and roofing materials; canopies and shelters; hardstanding; and outdoor furniture.

The last award in this year’s product section is the Award for Furniture and Fixtures. Products entered can include any fixture or fitting including, but not restricted to, furniture including seating, tables, office furniture, beds and storage solutions; door handle; window restrictors; anti-ligature products; and curtain rails and grab rails.

All entries must be new, innovative, fit for the healthcare market, and must demonstrate the involvement of patients, staff and other key stakeholders in the design process. They must also meet current health and social care priorities – for example reducing reliance on paper, reducing carbon emissions, improving document turnaround times, helping with auditing practices, providing joined-up healthcare etc.

Jo Makosinski, editor of Building Better Healthcare and organiser of the awards, said: “The Product category always attracts entries from a wide spectrum of companies.

“Companies, when creating and marketing products to the NHS, in particular, must prove that they meet current health priorities, and at present these revolve around making financial and operational efficiencies, improving outcomes and the environment for patients, helping to reduce healthcare associated infections, reducing carbon emissions, and reducing reliance on paper notes and records, which is how we have chosen this year’s categories.”

Commenting on the entry process, she added: “When completing the forms, it is vital you explain clearly how the entry meets all the bulletpoints set out in the judging criteria as that additional information enables the judges to picture the product when it is in operation.

“It is important that the entry is completed by a senior member of the team as they are in the best position to describe the benefits and the thinking behind the project. In addition, entries need to be clearly written and succinct; dealing only with the details and impact of the project and how it will demonstrate improvements on what is currently available. This should be supported by genuine comments from patients and clinicians. If these guidelines are followed then the judges will have sufficient information on which to make an informed decision. If any of this information is lacking, then it could mean entries not getting through to the final stages of judging.”

Click here to read more about the awards and the judging criteria.

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