Southern Innovation Challenge Winners Announced

4 December 2014

Southern Innovation Challenge Winners Announced

Southern DHB today announced the winner of the 2014 “Southern Innovation Challenge.”

Southern DHB Emergency Management Manager, Paul McNamara and Southern DHB Emergency Management Coordinator, Owen Black’s idea to produce a smartphone Emergency Management app to be used as an additional communications channel to Southern DHB staff was awarded first place and the team won $15,000 towards its development.

The app will enhance the level of communication in an emergency and will be used by the Emergency Management team for important notifications which in these situations may not reach staff through the usual channels of staff emails, intranet posts, and social media.

Southern DHB Chief Executive Officer, Carole Heatly said that it was very hard to choose a winner and the level of applications was extremely high. “However the app stood out as being a very innovative way of increasing Southern DHBs ability to maintain services in an emergency event by improving communications to our staff,” she said.

The “Emergency Management app” was one of six ideas awarded funding through the Southern Innovation Challenge. The other successful entries included a new range of easy-to-use resources for people on waiting lists with the Primary Mental Health Brief Intervention Service and Mental Health, Addictions and Intellectual Disability Service; a Central Otago tele-paediatric diabetes clinic; digital photo frames to introduce staff to the service users and their families/whānau as part of the Safe Wards initiative; an ipu whenua, a biodegradable vessel to return the embryo and umbilical cord to the earth and a falls prevention initiative through visual education aids for clients such as pamphlets and placemats.

This is the third year that the Southern Innovation Challenge has taken place and 16 applications were presented to the panel.

“The judges were looking for ideas that identified with Southern District Health Board’s strategic priorities and we certainly saw this in the applications,” said Ms Heatly.

The winners will be able to follow through with their proposal with the help of the prize money, organisational support and support from Otago Polytechnic.

The Southern Innovation Challenge was sponsored by Westpac Banking Corporation and Otago Polytechnic with this year’s sponsorship totalling $25,000.

This year’s judging panel consisting of Carole Heatly (Chief Executive Officer), Lexie O’Shea (Executive Director of Patient Services), Leanne Samuel (Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery), Cherie McConville (Director of Performance), David Tulloch (Chief Medical Officer), Peter Harris (Innovation Facilitator, Otago Polytechnic) and John Blaikie (Private Advisor, Westpac Banking Corporation).

ENDS

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