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From cannabis to arthritis - the year's finest medical achievements
11 November 2005
From revealing the real dangers of cannabis to unravelling the health secrets all of us contain in our DNA, the last twelve months have seen Britons presenting groundbreaking research and pioneering healthcare projects.
On 10 November the Bupa Foundation celebrated scientific innovation and breakthrough work when it held its annual awards at Lincoln’s Inn, London.
The Bupa Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that funds medical research and since 1979 it has awarded grants in excess of £17 million to medical research and healthcare initiatives across a broad range of disciplines from surgery to occupational health.
The Bupa Foundation Awards are made annually to recognise excellence in medical research and healthcare. The six category winners are:
- The Bupa Foundation Epidemiology Award went to a study that discovered that regular use of cannabis trebles your risk of suffering from schizophrenia. The award was presented to Dr Stanley Zammit, a clinical lecturer in psychological medicine at Cardiff and Bristol Universities.
- The Bupa Foundation Care Award has this year been presented to a project that has succeeded in doubling the chance of older stroke victims getting back on their feet and being active again. The award was presented to Dr Philippa Logan on behalf of the University of Nottingham and the Rushcliffe Primary Care Trust.
- The Bupa Foundation Clinical Excellence Award has been given to a groundbreaking NHS service catering specifically for the needs of adolescents suffering from arthritis. The chronic condition affects one in a thousand teenagers. The award was presented to Dr Janet McDonagh on behalf of the Adolescent Rheumatology Team at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Trust.
- According to the BMJ about half of the medicines prescribed for people with chronic conditions are not taken. The Bupa Foundation Communication Award has been awarded to a simple idea that calls for a rethink on how prescriptions are labelled. A few extra words explaining what the medicine is for are added to the prescription to improve both patient safety and drug compliance. The award was presented to Dr Nigel Masters, a general medical practitioner from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.
- Occupational asthma is the largest cause of occupational respiratory disease in the developed world - in the UK alone more than 3,000 new sufferers are diagnosed each year. The Bupa Foundation Health at Work Award has been presented to the organisation behind a set of guidelines that will play a key role in helping the HSE reach their target of cutting the incidence of occupational asthma by 30 percent by the year 2010. The award was presented to the British Occupational Health Research Foundation.
- The Bupa Foundation Research Award has been handed to scientists deciphering the genetic code that will help doctors predict which patients are at risk of particular diseases and allow them to give patients more targeted and effective treatments. The award was presented to Dr Julian Knight, a senior research fellow in clinical science at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford.
The vice chairman of the Bupa Foundation, Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen, said: "The Bupa Foundation aims to support projects which will deliver long term benefits for patients and we are pleased to recognise so many NHS organisations, universities and charities in their work at the sharp end of medical research and healthcare."
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