See through success

September 2020

Transparent face masks the big winner in round 21 of The Pitch

The Secretary of NSW Health, Elizabeth Koff, joined the judges panel for this round, which was held via Zoom, and had a focus on the ideas and innovations of staff that have been formulated during our response to COVID-19.

Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive, Dr Teresa Anderson, said it was a very exciting event. “I had such a lovely afternoon listening to all of the wonderful pitches and ideas”.

Dr Ryan Downey, Staff Specialist Anaesthetist, RPA and Luke Cameron Gordon, PhD Candidate, Charles Perkins Centre were awarded $50,000 towards making and testing their prototype transparent face mask.

“Being able to communicate effectively with colleagues and patients in a loud critical care environment is essential”, Dr Downey said. “Transparent masks will make a big difference, especially to patients with cognitive or hearing difficulties.”

Health Promotion Officer, Karen Richa and the team at BreastScreen have $10,000 to create beautifully designed shawls – featuring Aboriginal artwork - for women to wrap around them while they are having a breast screen.

“Small changes can make a large difference and this will help make Aboriginal women feel more comfortable”, Karen said, and “this shawl project is being done with the help of Aboriginal Health worker Toni Smith and Aboriginal Outreach worker Athena Mumbulla.”

But with a total of $100,000 - double the usual Pitch prizemoney - up for grabs there were lots of winners.

Dr Oyku Dalci, Senior Lecturer in Orthodontics at Sydney Dental Hospital won $28,624 to apply artificial intelligence to Orthodontic Care to improve the experience of people getting braces.

Our Mental Health team’s “Group in a box” idea - to support clients during group activities while receiving treatment in the Missenden Unit was highly commended. The have $2,500 to further explore their concept.

More than $1.6 million dollars has now been awarded to implement the ideas of our staff since the District started The Pitch in 2014, and similar innovation challenges are now being held in many other health services across the state.

Click here to view all of our winning teams