Kilkenny and South-East public health staff recognised with HSE Excellence Award

The staff of the Department of Public Health, HSE South East have been presented with a HSE Excellence Award by Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry.

The awards - now in their sixth year - recognise the work and special projects carried out by HSE staff across the country. This particular award was accepted by Dr Carmel Mullaney, Director of Public Health, HSE South East, on behalf of staff across the region.

“It’s a great honour to have our work recognised," said Dr Mullaney.

"It has been a very challenging time, as we worked with a constantly changing situation and evolving disease. We had to innovate and change as the pandemic progressed, to continue to provide services much needed by the public. Notwithstanding the pain, suffering and grief some people went through, our team worked to protect the health of our communities from Freshford to Ferrybank and from Urlingford to Castlecomer, and across the South-East."

Many members of the HSE were re-deployed to support the work of the Department of Public Health as case numbers rose and the work of contact tracing and managing outbreaks of Covid-19 increased daily.

“This award is shared by us in Public Health with the personnel and other agencies across the South East who we worked with closely during this difficult time, thank you for your hard work," Dr Mullaney went on to say.

Addressing the online ceremony, HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said: “It is an honour to present the HSE Excellence Award to all staff of Public Health departments across the country. Hundreds of hard-working staff in every region, including doctors, nurses, surveillance teams, contact tracers and administrative staff, have played a unique role throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Many lives have been saved through their tireless efforts in outbreak management and control, the tracking and tracing of the disease, and breaking and preventing numerous chains of transmission in the community. While Public Health’s work is on-going in this pandemic, it is important that we recognise and acknowledge their major contribution over the past two years.”