NZ winner backs health awards after overseas success

Media Release

29 October 2004

NZ winner backs health awards after overseas success

A winner from this year’s New Zealand Health Innovation Awards is encouraging people to enter next year’s awards following overseas success for his time-saving development in vision testing.

There are just two weeks left to submit entries for the New Zealand Health Innovation Awards 2005, the country’s top health and rehabilitation awards.

The awards acknowledge and reward achievements of health innovators and encourage the sharing of ideas and solutions among health providers across New Zealand and overseas.

The winner of the individual award in the 2004 Health Innovation Awards was this week named as one of three winners of the Asian Innovation Awards in Singapore. The entry will now go forward to the Wall Street Journal’s Technological Global Innovation Awards, in New York in November.

The prize-winning New Zealand entry was a colour vision test, devised by Christchurch Hospital scientist Dr Rudy Hidajat and his son Ray, and developed by the hospital’s ophthalmology department.

The test is used to detect eye problems such as glaucoma and has cut the time it takes to produce test results from an hour to four minutes.

Dr Hidajat said this week: “I would really encourage people to enter the New Zealand Health Innovation Awards. There is a lot of talent in New Zealand that often goes unseen. This is an excellent way of helping to share knowledge across New Zealand and overseas.

”In Singapore I was surprised we even got to the finals because I read all the entries and some were multimillion-dollar projects backed by big companies.”

The Health Innovation Awards were initiated by the Ministry of Health and ACC in 2003, with Telecom New Zealand now established as the major business sponsor.

Applications are invited from individuals, groups and organisations in public health, accident and emergency care, general practice, disability services, community care, primary care and rehabilitation.

The Supreme Award carries a grand prize of $15,000. There are also category awards of $8000.00 each and a Popular Choice Award of $5,000.

Expressions of Interest should be made by 12 November 2004. Further information about the awards and entry forms are available online at www.healthinnovationawards.co.nz