The International Hospital Federation (IHF) has announced the winners of the IHF Awards at a ceremony at the 44th World Hospital Congress (WHC) in Barcelona on 10 November.

The award committee, led by Dr Lawrence Lai of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, selected the winners for the six categories from 250 entries submitted from 38 different countries and territories – the highest number of submissions since the awards were established in 2015.

Winners were chosen based on criteria such as originality and innovation, intended impact, adaptability and scalability, scientific rigour, and clarity.

Gold award winners will be invited to present their winning programmes and projects in a special parallel session at the WHC, as well as appearing in the event-affiliated online brochure. Silver, Bronze and honourable mentions will also be able to display posters at the WHC exhibition.

Entries for the 2022 IHF awards are scheduled to open in March 2022 and will be awarded at the next WHC in Dubai.

Dr Kwang Tae Kim Grand Hospital Award

This award recognises institutions that excelled in areas such as ‘quality and patient safety, corporate social responsibility, healthcare leadership and supporting sustainability initiatives’. The award winners for this category were:

• Gold: Saudi German Hospital Cairo, Egypt
• Silver: Spectrum Health, USA
• Bronze: Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Centre, Philippines.

Honourable mentions were also awarded to the Corniche Hospital, United Arab Emirates; H+ Yangji Hospital, South Korea; Mediker Group, Kazakhstan; Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre, Greece; and University Hospital of Krakow, Poland.

American College of Healthcare Executives Excellence Award for Leadership and Management

This award is for ‘excellence or outstanding achievements in strong leadership and management in leading a hospital or a health service provider’. The winners were:

• Gold: Dubai Health Authority, United Arab Emirates
• Silver: Mutua Terrassa Healthcare Foundation, Spain
• Bronze: Emirates Health Services, United Arab Emirates, and the NEO Hospital, Poland.

The honourable mentions also go to Dubai Health Authority, United Arab Emirates; the Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, India; Cho Ray Hospital, Vietnam; the Multi-disciplinary Simulation and Skills Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hospital Authority (Hong Kong); and Northwell Health (USA).

Austco Excellence Award for Quality and Patient Safety

This award recognises ‘excellence or outstanding achievements in promoting quality and patient safety.’ The award winners were:

• Gold: Kaiser Permanente Northern California, USA
• Silver: Royal Hospital, Oman
• Bronze: Saudi German Hospital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Spain.

Honourable mentions go to Cho Ray Hospital, Vietnam, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, EPE, Portugal; Department of Medical Education of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan; Mediclinic Middle East, United Arab Emirates; and the Multi-disciplinary Simulation and Skills Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong.

Ashikaga-Nikken Excellence Award for Green Hospitals

This award is ‘honouring hospitals and healthcare organizations promoting sustainable and eco-friendly initiatives’. The awards went to:

• Gold: University Health Network, Canada
• Silver: Fundació Sanitària Mollet, Spain
• Bronze: Fachklinik Gaissach (FKG), Germany.

Honourable mentions also went to: Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, India; Consorci Sanitari de l’Alt Penedès i Garraf, Spain; Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hubertus, Germany; Manila Doctors Hospital, Philippines; and the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Canada.

Seddiqi Holding Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility

This award is for the recognition of ‘excellence or outstanding achievements in advancing corporate social responsibility’. The awards go to:

• Gold: Manila Doctors Hospital and GT Foundation, Inc, Philippines
• Silver: St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney, Australia
• Bronze: E-DA Hospital, Taiwan.

Honourable mentions go to Asklepios Harzklinik Goslar, Germany; Democrito O. Plaza Memorial Hospital, Philippines; Emirates Health Services, United Arab Emirates; Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Centre, Philippines; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Centre, Philippines.

Sultanate of Oman Excellence Award for Health Services During Crisis

This award acknowledges ‘achievements of hospitals and healthcare organizations in developing countries during a time of crisis’. The winners for this category are:

• Gold: French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children, Afghanistan
• Silver: Medland Health Services, Zambia
• Bronze: Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, India.

Honourable mentions go to Amiri Medical Complex, Afghanistan; Democrito O. Plaza Memorial Hospital, Philippines; Dr Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, Philippines; MAX Superspeciality Hospital, India; Shahid Beheshti Medical University of Sciences, Iran.