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Eligibility, award criteria and closing dates

Care award
Clinical excellence award
Communication award
Epidemiology award
Health at work award
Best emerging medical researcher in the UK
Patient safety award

Care award for excellence in the development of care for older people

For 2008 the BUPA Foundation seeks submissions that demonstrate new ideas and approaches that improve the experience of older people and those who care for them.

This is an award to give recognition for a functioning project, not a development plan or indeed a research grant.

Only completed projects are eligible for submission.

The award is not open to students.

The submission must demonstrate:

• an assessment of service purpose and planning
• a description of the service
• a design of evaluation, particularly addressing continuing unmet needs rather than mere service satisfaction

It is desirable that some form of service user feedback and comment be included.

Projects submitted for the award within the last three years can not be resubmitted.

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.

Clinical excellence award for work that demonstrates an improved clinical outcome for patients

This may include clinical governance initiatives; but with the underlying theme of demonstrating clinically effective care through multi-discliplinary collaboration.

The award is open to clinicians who are UK residents only. Applicants should hold a clinical qualification and can be at any stage in their career. All entries should have their origins in work which commenced after 2002 and which has been completed recently or is currently active.

The work must be attributable to a small team and does not necessarily have to be medically led. It should be multi-disciplinary in approach and show innovation and originality.

The award is not open to students.

The submission must demonstrate:

• clearly defined and measurable outcomes
• patient, carer or family involvement
• that it is a practical and cost-effective project, suitable for application nationwide
• enhanced mutual understanding between clinicians of different disciplines of their roles and the combined contribution they make to achieve better clinical outcomes
• a clear formulation of the problems addressed
• a brief review of previous studies in the area
• study design which is appropriate, efficient and ethical
• a valid dissemination strategy for the results, including how the work could be adopted for the benefit of patients and clients more widely
• tangible evidence through case study examples which demonstrate that the criteria have been met

In addition, the submission should also provide a clear outline showing how the award money will be used to further the work should you win the award.

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.

Communication award for effective communication between healthcare professionals and patients

This award recognises effective communication between the medical profession and patients.

It is run in association with the Patient Information Forum (PiF) - an independent group united by a common purpose; the development, production and dissemination of high quality information for patients, carers and their families.

Applications are open to healthcare professionals who are UK residents only. All entries should have their origins in work which commenced after 2002 and which has been completed recently or is currently active.

Full reference must be made to all relevant work published in medical journals circulated in the UK.

Entries must be original and attributable to an individual or small team.

The award is not open to students.

The submission must demonstrate:

• enhanced mutual understanding between patients and health care professionals, and should describe work which could be widely adopted for the benefit of patients
• tangible evidence of improvement in communication, eg through case studies

And improvement in at least one of the following:

• doctor/patient communication
• communication between doctors and the general public
• communication skills of individual doctors as a result of the project
• methods of transferring information between doctors and patients
• in-patient systems

In addition, the submission should also give a clear outline showing how the prize money will be used to further the work should you win the award.

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.

Epidemiology award for excellence in the epidemiological study of human disease

This award is made for work that shows excellence in the epidemiological study of human disease. The study can address any or all of the risk/protective factors, the incidence and prevalence of the main pathological process, or the incidence and prevalence of complications. The BUPA Foundation will be particularly pleased to receive applications which address the interface of epidemiology with other disciplines, eg surgery or social studies.

Applications are open to all medical practitioners and non-medical epidemiologists who are both resident and practising in the UK. Entries from those in academic or service posts are also accepted.

The award is not open to students.

The work must be original although it may be derived from a continuing study. It should be attributable to an individual or small team. Single locations in multi-centre studies may only apply in respect of a special feature of the study at their site, or if they are the acknowledged "leader" site. Sub teams studying the various facets of the work of a major unit may submit a number of entries reflecting the diversity of the problem addressed.

The submission must demonstrate:

• a clear formulation of the problems addressed
• a brief review of other epidemiological studies which have addressed the problem
• study design which is appropriate, efficient and ethical
• an analytical strategy which is consistent with the design
• a valid dissemination strategy for the results

In addition, the submission should also provide a clear outline showing how the prize money will be used to further the work should you win the award.

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.

Health at work award for excellence in occupational medicine

This award is made in recognition of excellence in the field of occupational medicine in its widest sense. Studies addressing new ideas of measurement, risk assessment or management issues arising from, or strongly linked to, improving health in the workplace will also be eligible.

Applications are open to practitioners who are UK residents only. They need not be medically qualified or working full time, and can be at any stage of their career, including training posts.

The award is not open to students.

The work needs to be original and attributable to an individual or small team. Single locations in multi-centre studies may only apply in respect of a "special feature" or if they are the leader site.

The submission must demonstrate:

• a clear formulation of the problems addressed
• a brief but sufficient review of previous studies in the area
• scientifically robust and ethical study design
• a valid dissemination strategy for the results
• tangible supporting evidence
• usefulness and how the work could make a difference

In addition, the submission should also provide a clear outline showing how the prize money will be used to further the work should you win the award.

The award is not open to students.

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.

Research award for the best emerging medical researcher in the UK

This award is for work undertaken during the previous five years. The award is based on both past achievement and proposals for the future. It is made either on the basis of direct application to the BUPA Foundation by researchers or by nominations of candidate by postgraduate deans or heads of departments. Consideration is also given to the outline of the way in which the prize money will be used to further the work should you win.

Applications are open to medical practitioners who are resident and working in the UK and who are aged 40 years or younger on 1 July 2008. This applies whether working as an individual or as part of a team.

The award is not open to students.

Entries may be submitted by researchers, either individually or jointly. If the work has been carried out in collaboration with others, only those co-researchers who are under 40 years of age are eligible. The names and particulars of each entrant must be provided and the permission of the co-workers confirmed.

All entries need to have their origins in work which commenced after 2002 and which has been completed recently or is currently active.

The judges make the award after giving consideration on the following criteria:

• the work must be original and attributable to an individual or small team
• there should be a clear statement of the purpose of completed work and the nature of the consequences of the outcome
• the work must be ethical
• preference will be given to work with demonstrable consequences for clinical medicine
• research relating to topics with important impact for healthcare are favoured
• in stating how the prize will be used in the future, applicants should consider design, analytical strategy and mechanisms for valid dissemination of the results
• there should be a clear outline showing how the award money would be used

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.

Patient safety award for contribution to patient safety

This award will recognise outstanding contribution to patient safety from either individuals or teams. Applications are open to healthcare professionals and patient groups based in the UK. All entries should have their origins in work which commenced after 2002 and which has been completed recently or is currently active.

The Foundation particularly encourages submissions from teams where work has been carried out without substantial external funding.

Full reference must be made to all relevant work published in medical journals circulated in the UK. Entries must be original and attributable to an individual or small team.

Successful development and implementation of an initiative which enhances the safety of patients. This may concern:

• the assessment, analysis or understanding of safety issues


• the implementation of incident reporting systems
• the introduction of specific safety interventions
• support given to patients or staff after an adverse outcome

As well as the core criteria, assessors will be looking for evidence of:

• analysis of the information illustrating the problem(s) and identification of the improvements to systems and processes.
• this may include patient health records
• patient and carer involvement in changes arising from incident reporting or involvement in the investigation
• risk assessment of the change process
• learning and sharing across teams, specialty boundaries, and care settings including across health and social care
• evaluation following implementation of the changes which demonstrates sustainability over time

In addition the submission should also provide a clear outline showing how the award money would be used to further your work should you win the award.

Closing date for submissions is 1 July 2008.