Two Limerick-based nurses win top med-tech award
TWO NURSES at the Limerick-based Department of Public Health Mid-West beat over 115,000 HSE employees to a top award.
Their innovative idea is to collect urine samples in a cleaner way in order to improve diagnosis rates of infections, with the aid of a special app.
Public Health Mid-West’s Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) Bernadette Higgins, and Clinical Nurse Manager 2 (CNM2) in Health Protection, Anne Murray, won the National Spark Ignite award.
This also includes €3,000 seed funding, on top of an earlier €3,000 in seed funding they had secured in early June.
‘Wee Catch It’ is currently in prototype development phase, and the Public Health nurses will now work towards developing the unique product and software for national and international use.
Anne Murray, CNM2, from Cork and lives in Kilcornan, county Limerick, said:
“As a parent, I know the distress of trying to get a urine sample from a baby. As nurses, our patients are the centre of all we do.”
She stressed that their drive is to deliver the best patient experience they can in an effective, efficient, simple, comfortable, safe and cost-effective way.
Dr Mai Mannix, Area Director of Public Health Mid-West, said: “I would like to wish them the very best of luck in the success of their unique idea,” she concluded.