Olympic Champion Sally Gunnell has paid tribute to the talents of "skilled and committed journalists" who were recognised last night at the Medical Journalism Awards 2008.
Olympic Champion Sally Gunnell has paid tribute to the talents of "skilled and committed journalists" who were recognised last night at the Medical Journalism Awards 2008.
The Medical Journalism Awards, now in their 17th year, are run jointly by the Medical Journalists' Association and Norwich Union Healthcare and celebrate the highest standards of excellence in journalism.
Presenting the Norwich Union Healthcare Story of the Year Award to Mark Henderson of The Times, Sally Gunnell said: "I would like to congratulate Mark Henderson and all those award winners on their achievements and contribution towards medical journalism. It is thanks to them that we hear about the new developments in healthcare and the challenges that might face us in the future. It takes great talent, commitment and sheer hard work to succeed at this level and I would like to pay tribute to their dedication."
Sally Gunnell also welcomed Norwich Union's commitment to UK Athletics and praised its aim of getting 15 million children active by 2012. She said: "If we want to transform attitudes towards health and well-being we have to get out there and make things happen on the ground."
Gil Baldwin, managing director of Norwich Union Healthcare, said: "Norwich Union Healthcare is proud to support these awards which recognise outstanding medical journalism. With rapid and often complex advancements in healthcare, everyone relies on the talents of medical journalists to help them understand new developments and appreciate their implications. I would like thank all those who entered and congratulate the winners on their achievements."
David Delvin, chair of the Medical Journalists' Association, said: "This is medical journalism at its best and the winners combined originality with an understanding of what makes a great story for their readers. The competition is very tough and I would like to congratulate them on their success."
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For further information, please contact:
Lucy Grubb on 07800 691 935
Rob O'Halloran or Jo Murray on 020 7839 4321
Notes to editors:
The full list of Medical Journalism Awards 2008 winners and the shortlisted entries are below. Quotes from each category judge regarding all winning and highly commended articles are available at www.norwichunion.com/mja. A full set of photographs will be available from the awards ceremony on the website next week.
Norwich Union Healthcare Story of the Year Award 2008
Winner: Mark Henderson, "Novel diabetes therapy" (The Times)
Shortlist: Mark Nicholls, "Health bosses in £1m payout" (Eastern Daily Press)
Fergus Walsh, "Child mortality" (BBC Ten O'clock News)
Financing Healthcare Category:
Consumer Section
Winner: Mark Nicholls, Eastern Daily Press - "Health bosses in £1m payout"
Commendation: John Greenwood, Sunday Telegraph - "French healthcare is forcing us to sell up"
Shortlist: Peta Bee, The Times - "Children's teeth suffer"
Trade Section
Winner: Sally Gainsbury, Health Service Journal - "Embarrassment as NHS under spends by £1.8bn"
Commendations: Max Gosney, Chemist & Druggist - "Prescription switching: an A-Z guide"
Lynn Rouse, Post Magazine - "A shot in the arm"
Shortlist: Ingrid Torjeson, Health Service Journal - "Crime scene - and you're in the dock"
Broadcast Category:
National TV Section
Winner: Fergus Walsh, BBC Ten O'Clock News - "Child mortality"
Commendation: Chris Steele, This Morning "Testicular Cancer"
Shortlist: Maggie Fogarty and Ruth Gray, Tonight with Trevor McDonald - "Teen too soon"
Shelley Jofre, Panorama - "What next for Craig?"
Regional TV Section
Winner: Andrew Brown, ITV West - "Emergency medics"
Commendation: Stephen Magee, BBC Scotland - "My right to die"
Matthew Hill, Inside Out West - "Organs"
National Radio Section
Winner: Rami Tzabar and Ben Goldacre, BBC Radio 4 - "The rise of the lifestyle nutritionists"
Commendation: Gerry Northam, File on 4 - "Cancer research"
Shortlist: Phillip Kemp, 5 Live Report - "NHS Baby Blues"
Pam Rutherford and Claudia Hammond, BBC World Service - "Bangladeshi floating hospital"
Regional Radio Section
Highly Commended: Monise Durrani, BBC Radio Scotland - "How to live to be 100"
Shortlist: Mark Daly, BBC Radio Scotland - "Cash before care"
General Medical Category:
Consumer News
Winner: Mark Henderson, The Times - "Novel diabetes therapy paves way for personalised medicine"
Commendation: Judy Hobson, Yours Magazine - "Sight-saving op brings new hope"
Shortlist: Adele Waters, The Independent on Sunday - "UK fertility safety for women is among the worst in Europe"
Consumer Feature
Winner: Nick Morgan, Readers Digest - "The great eye test scandal"
Commendation: Roger Highfield, Daily Telegraph - "Early learning centre"
Shortlist: Mark Henderson, The Times - "Genetic testing is risky and I've got the proof"
Jeremy Laurence, The Independent - "Doctor death"
Andy Ridgway, BBC Focus Magazine - "A life decided"
Trade News Section
Winner: Sally Gainsbury, Health Service Journal - "PCTs face tough questions on QOF reporting"
Commendation: Adele Waters, Nursing Standard - "Nursing student attrition is costing taxpayers £99 million a year"
Nigel Praities, Pulse - "NICE u-turn set to save Framington"
Shortlist: Rachel Liddle, GP Newspaper - "Bid to swap 60 QOF points for extended hours"
Trade Feature Section
Winner: Adele Waters, Nursing Standard - "Blowing the whistle"
Commendation: Emma Dent, Health Service Journal - "The safety scandal"
Shortlist: Geordie Clarke, Money Management - "Out of sight, out of mind"
Helen Crump, Health Service Journal - "Kings Fund burst the polyclinic plan bubble"
Nigel Praities, Pulse - "Drug switching incentives"
Best Newcomer Section
Winner: Tom Ireland, GP Newspaper - "GPs face charges for patients' visits to A&E"
About Norwich Union Healthcare
Norwich Union Healthcare was founded in 1990 as the healthcare arm of Norwich Union and now provides a range of private medical insurance, income protection, occupational health and group life products and services that cover over 2,400,000 lives. It is one of the largest providers of income protection and private medical insurance in the UK.
Norwich Union Occupational Health, a sister company of Norwich Union Healthcare, provides occupational health solutions and services to a wide range of industry sectors. By utilising their large fleet of purpose built mobile clinics and approved medical centres, staffed by a team of experienced occupational physicians and nursing staff, the services are designed to meet the individual needs of clients.
Norwich Union Healthcare is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the Association of British Insurers and the Financial Ombudsman Service.
About The Medical Journalists' Association
The MJA is an independent professional association for anyone who writes, edits or produces material on health or medicine in the media. The current membership includes medical and healthcare journalists, as well as doctors, nurses and therapists, contributing to national and provincial newspapers, specialist, business and consumer magazines, radio and television, the web and books. www.mja-uk.org/.