The National HealthTech Innovation Awards were held at the Round Room in the Mansion House, Dublin 2 on November 23.
Hosted by broadcaster Ivan Yates, the awards celebrated the very best achievements from across the healthcare technology sector in Ireland.
The awards were organised by HealthTech Ireland & iQuest Ltd and sponsored by the platinum members of HealthTech Ireland including RCSI, GS1 Ireland, Boston Scientific, EIT Health, Enterprise Ireland, PwC, Nobocap, SGS, HN Company, TCP HomeCare, Microsoft, Medtronic, and Mangan O'Beirne.
The Children’s Health Foundation was the charity partner of the event. The awards hosted 12 categories, which were judged by panel of industry experts, with the winners announced on the night.
Over the 11 years running, the awards have experienced tremendous growth, attracting entries from hospitals, researchers, MedTech entrepreneurs, and industry pioneers.
A distinguished judging panel comprising leading experts from the industry ensures the fairness and integrity of the judging process, a vital component of the awards’ success.
The judges were Caroline Whelan, Group CEO at Blackrock Healthcare, Fran Thompson, CIO at HSE, Garrett Murray, Head of Life Sciences at Enterprise Ireland, and Lucy Nugent, CEO of Tallaght University Hospital.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented each year to an Irish person who stands out among their peers, by virtue of the role they have played in the health service.
Gerry O’Dwyer, former Group Chief Executive of the South/SouthWest Hospital Group was this year’s recipient. Gerry retired earlier this year after 50 years working in the health services.
Gerry’s career in the health services commenced as a psychiatric nurse in the 1970s. His career path wove its way through the public hospital system and also the voluntary sector, with senior roles in Cork University Hospital Group and CEO, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children.
He also held senior positions in the HSE as Network Manager South and Regional Director of Operations in Dublin Mid-Leinster.
As Group Chief Executive of the South/South West Hospital Group, Gerry was responsible for setting up the Group and charting a strategy which would bring a unified approach to the delivery of services to a community ranging from Waterford to Tralee.
As is his nature, he cited his pride in the work that healthcare staff do every day for those who rely on such services for their healthcare needs.
Gerry’s leadership skills were never more apparent than during times of crisis particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic and the cyberattack on the HSE when, he said, staff at all levels across the group worked long hours in extremely challenging circumstances. A worthy recipient of this year’s award.
It was an opportunity to showcase Irish innovation and shine a light on so many developments that have and will lead to enhanced patient outcomes
Garrett Murray, a judge, speaker, and sponsor of the Awards shared, “The National HealthTech Innovation Awards was a seminal event and brought together Irish start-ups and SMEs, multinational companies, the research community and so many innovators and leaders from the wider national health ecosystem.
“It was an opportunity to showcase Irish innovation and shine a light on so many developments that have and will lead to enhanced patient outcomes. It was great to see Enterprise Ireland-supported scaling companies do so well across several categories''
Many of the winners are household names. However, the winner of the ‘Best of the Best’ representing an overall winner was Nua Surgical, an Irish healthcare start-up making waves through the industry.
CEO and Founder, Barry McCann was at the awards and said, “These prestigious awards are a testament to hard work put in by our team, our advisors and our partners. It’s such a privilege to work alongside people with the common goal of providing better outcomes for women and their newborns, and these accolades are something we can all be very proud of.”
CEO of HealthTech Ireland, Susan Treacy, was pleased with how the awards ceremony went. She said “I am really proud and privileged to say that 2023 has been an exceptional year for impactful and tangible collaboration between the public and the private sector in Ireland in healthcare.
Courage and energy
“Our competition entrants this year really reflect this. It takes courage and energy to deliver a vision of hope into a reality. We are at an inflection point where all of us can collaborate and work to provide a more resilient and sustainable healthcare system together.
This is why these finalists and highlighting them here tonight is so critical. They demonstrate what is possible when we reach out of our comfort zones, when we consider what could be possible and when we make a decision to trust each other in those critical moments.
“Tonight’s competitors, as well as the HealthTech Ireland members and all our partners and collaborators here are driving transformation forward.”
The National HealthTech Innovation Awards are a platform for manufacturers, distributors, medical device and digital companies to showcase the state-of-the-art medical health technologies brought to the market and to demonstrate the positive impact they have for patients and the healthcare system.
For further details on the event including shortlist, winners and members, go to www.healthtechawards.ie