Smart Award with Mayo Hospital Pharmacists

A smart tool to monitor and audit antibiotics to help the fight against antimicrobial resistance has been named the winner of this year’s Spark Ignite Innovation competition.

The project, which was developed by Mayo University Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacists Marie Ronan and Rose Cafferkey, offers real-time surveillance of antibiotics, and could benefit patients throughout Ireland and further afield.

“Rose and I are delighted and proud to win this prestigious award for the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team and Pharmacy Department in Mayo University Hospital. Being shortlisted for the HIHI Spark Ignite Award was an honour especially with the high calibre of entrants,” said Ms Ronan.

“Antimicrobial resistance affects us all and has the potential to have a devastating impact on all our lives.”

The competition is a collaboration between Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI), the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director (ONMSD), and National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP). It attracted more than 150 applications from HSE staff throughout the country, with a two-stage review process whittling the list down to 36 finalists for a bespoke innovation workshop.

The projects covered new products and services with commercial appeal, and healthcare service or process improvements applicable to any hospital or team, home and abroad. The main theme of the programme is that all ideas and projects have the patient and the care teams at their core.