FORMER Evening Times news editor, Ally Mclaws, thought he had left the world of award ceremonies behind when he became communications director for NHS Greater Glasgow.
Not so. At an awards ceremony hosted by the magazine, Health Service Journal, he and his team picked up the coveted Communications Award.
Beating rival entries from the Ambulance Service and NHS trusts throughout England, the winning entry was a campaign to convince the public of the benefits of Greater Glasgow Health Board’s revamping of its provision, including the replacement of five outdated A&E departments with two new ones.
Said Mclaws, who won a clutch of awards at the Times, including Campaigning Journalist of the Year: “In some ways, this was even more satisfying because it was all about issues that will have a profound effect on people’s health.”
The campaign included 48 sheet billboards featuring working doctors and nurses, and the slogan: ’21st Century Medicine, 19th Century Buildings’.
The judges obviously felt that Mclaws had lost none of his campaigning zeal. Their commendation included the comment: “The rest of the NHS could learn from the way this communications team tackled the issue of change head-on.”
