Children’s Health Ireland Celebrates Two Winners at the Irish Healthcare Awards 2026
Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) was triumphant at the Irish Healthcare Awards 2026, which took place on Tuesday 3rd November 2026 at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. With 12 projects shortlisted across a range of award categories, including two award-winning projects, this recognition highlights the dedication, innovation and commitment of our teams to enhancing patient care and improving healthcare services.
10 Samhain 2026
CHI at Crumlin, CHI at Temple Street, CHI at Connolly (by appointment), CHI at Tallaght
News
We are delighted to announce that two CHI projects recognised as winners in the following award categories:
- Patient Service Initiative of the Year
- Best Use of Digital Health & IT
Patient Service Initiative of the Year
Winner - “Innovating at the Front Door: A GP-Led Solution to Paediatric ED Demand” - CHI at Temple Street.
The GP out-of-hours service at CHI at Temple Street was established in May 2024 in partnership with the Integrated Health Areas of Dublin North County and Dublin North City & West (formerly CHO 9) and Northdoc Medical Services CLG (D Doc and E Doc GP Urgent Care Providers), as part of the Winter Programme to alleviate pressure on acute services.
Since its introduction, over 6,500 patients have been safely redirected from the Emergency Department (ED) to GP-led care following triage. This targeted model is unique with access limited to ED referred patients who meet defined clinical criteria. This ensures safe and appropriate care pathways. The service has significantly reduced ED congestion during peak periods - reduced patient wait times, fewer patients leaving before treatment completion, and decreased overcrowding.
The judges commended this innovative GP-led service for offering families a clearer route to appropriate care at the front door of a busy paediatric Emergency Department. By integrating care for less acute presentations alongside emergency and trauma services, the initiative helps parents navigate the system more easily. Strong multidisciplinary teamwork and evidence of practical service improvements demonstrate its value. This is a thoughtful model for making paediatric care more accessible and efficient.
“This award reflects the outstanding contribution of our medical, nursing and operational colleagues, whose collaboration, commitment and innovation made this success possible. We are incredibly proud of this recognition for a truly exceptional patient-centred initiative and would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved in Emergency Department at Temple St, our colleagues in Northdoc and the HSE sponsors
Best Use of Digital Health & IT
Winner - “Introduction of a Self-Scheduling Virtual Consultation System into the CHI at Crumlin Diabetes Service”- CHI at Crumlin – Diabetes Service.
This project focuses on improving timely access to support for children with diabetes and their families in between scheduled outpatient appointments. The project created a system for parents to self-schedule timely virtual consultations directly with relevant clinicians, reducing the burden on administrative staff or waiting until the next routine clinic.
The project offers early intervention when concerns first emerge about glycaemic control, diabetes-related distress, treatment adherence, dietary management and parental confidence. This kind of early intervention helps to improve patient and family experience while reducing demand for more intensive intervention later.
Patients and families are benefitting from this project by reducing the number of face-to-face appointments thereby reducing travel time, financial cost, school and work absences, and disruption to family routines, particularly for families travelling long distances to get to and from CHI at Crumlin.
From a clinical perspective, this project is also reducing administrative burden, supporting more flexible appointment scheduling, improving continuity with individual clinicians, and reducing missed or delayed opportunities. This project uses a safe, sustainable and scalable model of digital access that could be adopted by other CHI specialties.
A huge congratulations to both winning teams and to all 10 shortlisted project teams. These achievements highlight the outstanding work, collaboration and continuous improvement taking place across Children’s Health Ireland.