UHG wins on the Double at the Irish Institute of Radiography and Radiation Therapy Medray Awards

The Radiology Department and the Radiation Therapy Department at University Hospital Galway won their respective ‘Department of the Year’ awards at the annual Irish Institute of Radiography and Radiation Therapy (IIRRT) Medray Awards which were presented during the IIRRT Conference in Galway on Saturday.

The awards aim to recognise where staff go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their patients and clients receive the utmost of special care and attention. UHG was shortlisted in the Radiology Department of the Year along with Roscommon University Hospital and Merlin Park University Hospital. In the Radiation Therapy Department of the year, UHG was shortlisted along with St Luke’s Hospital and the Beacon Hospital in Dublin.

The hospitals which were shortlisted went through a rigorous elimination process which involved an inspection by the Irish Institute of Radiography and Radiation Therapy, site visits and even a ‘secret shopper’ who observed staff interaction with patients. The eventual outcome was decided by combining the results of a public vote and site visit.

Stephen Coyne, Radiotherapy Service Manager, said, “Hearing we were nominated for the IIRRT Medray Department of the Year award created great excitement in our department over the summer and winning was a fantastic boost. We are a relatively small radiotherapy department with a multi-disciplinary team which has a very strong patient-centred focus. The award recognises that the work by the team in the department is highly appreciated by the patients we treat and their families”.

Susan Coyle is the Radiographer Services Manager in UHG. She said, “These awards recognise radiology and radiotherapy departments and individual staff members who provide an exceptional service to the public, display exemplary professionalism, or are leaders in promoting best practice or continual professional development.  In the radiology department at UHG we promote a patient-centric approach and endeavour to continually improve our services through quality initiatives, training undergraduate radiographers, promoting postgraduate radiographer education and clinical audit and research. The public vote which contributed to our win shows us that the work by the team in UHG is recognised and appreciated by the patients we image and their families and this makes us very proud.”