Excellence in patient safety, quality improvement and innovation has been celebrated at the 2026 ACT Safety and Quality in Health Care Awards.
The awards, presented as part of World Patient Safety Day, honour the work of leading individuals, teams and organisations whose work is improving health outcomes, enhancing patient experiences and delivering safer, higher-quality care across Canberra.
Along with the presentation of the awards, the Walk for Patient Safety Day will see participants wearing orange walking from Canberra Hospital Garran to the Health and Community Services Directorate in Phillip. The walk symbolises the shared commitment to safer health care across all parts of the health system.
Minister for Health Dr Marisa Paterson congratulated the winners and finalists for their commitment to improving patient outcomes and strengthening the ACT health system.
“Patient safety is at the heart of high-quality healthcare, and the recipients of these awards are leading important work to improve experiences and outcomes for people across the ACT,” Dr Paterson said.
“These awards demonstrate the extraordinary talent and dedication that exists across our health sector and the impact that is having on patients and their families.”
The 2026 ACT Safety and Quality in Health Care Awards recipients are:
Dr Ram Ganesalingam: Digital Health Innovation Award and Minister’s Excellence Award for Safety and Quality Improvement in Health Care
Dr Ram Ganesalingam leads the Canberra Surveillance Program, an innovative, digitally enabled nurse-led model that improves patient safety, expands access to care and releases specialist capacity. Originally developed to deal with colorectal cancer surveillance, it has evolved into a scalable model with potential to transform care across multiple specialities managing predictable, protocol-based longitudinal follow-up.
Decision Support Unit: Health Care Measurement Award
The Decision Support Unit team developed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dashboard in partnership with community stakeholders to address longstanding concerns about fragmentation and inaccessibility of health performance data relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities .. The dashboard addresses a critical gap in providing culturally meaningful, transparent and actionable health information.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Sustainable Health Care Delivery Award
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services developed the Connect Clinic’s student-led model in response to increasing demand for youth mental health services. Increased demand was creating long wait times, growing workforce pressures and the need to build a skilled future workforce. Through strong partnerships and effective clinical governance, the project has created a more sustainable model of care.
Brennan Anderson: Emerging Leaders in Health Care Award
Brennan devotes himself to improving organisation-wide systems to reduce variation in sepsis care. He has demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, collaboration and commitment to education and consumer engagement. His work has delivered measurable improvements in clinical practice and patient safety and lasting organisational change.
Olivia Dyriw: Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety Award, Clinical Nurse Consultant
Olivia transformed community stomal therapy care by identifying service gaps, implementing sustainable solutions and ensuring patients receive timely, appropriate and person-centred care. One of Olivia’s most significant achievements has been the redesign of the new patient referral pathway. One judge commented, “It is amazing what one person can achieve with a focus on consumers and their care.”
