The heroic efforts of NSW healthcare workers, who this year faced the challenges of bushfires, drought, floods and the COVID-19 pandemic, have been recognised at the 2020 NSW Health Awards.
The Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard said the extraordinary circumstances of the past year made it more important than ever to acknowledge the achievements of healthcare workers in the State.
“I extend my wholehearted gratitude to all of our health staff for their ongoing efforts during this immensely challenging time,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Every single year our health staff go above and beyond to save lives and provide patients with top level care,” he said.
“This year the challenges ramped right up – topped off with a one-in-one hundred year pandemic – and our staff showed remarkable resilience, meeting these challenges every step of the way.”
Mr Hazzard said that among this year’s winners was a team of Pathology researchers from NSW Health who established highly specialised COVID-19 testing capabilities at the onset of the pandemic.
“The team of experts at the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research Westmead successfully grew the virus from NSW patients, a much needed step in understanding and containing the virus,” he said.
“Thanks to their efforts, we’ve now conducted more than three million COVID-19 tests – an unprecedented effort that has placed NSW among the highest testing rates per capita in the world, and helped us fight this deadly virus.”
Mr Hazzard said there were 19 finalists from 14 State-wide health entities who competed in 10 Award categories.
The complete list of Award winners can be accessed at this PS News link.
