Final call for public service health innovations
As the GEMS Health Award deadline approaches, teams are urged to submit their entries this week.
Public service teams with proven solutions that improve healthcare are urged to submit their
entries before Friday, October 30, for consideration for the 2026/27 GEMS Health Award.
The award funding serves to support the further development and replication of health innovations.
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), the Centre for Public Service
Innovation (CPSI) and the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) are making the final
call as entries close this week for the National Batho Pele Service Excellence and Innovation Awards.
There is no separate application for the GEMS Health Award. Teams must enter the Innovation
category through CPSI at https://cpsiregistrations.co.za/. All health-related finalists are
automatically considered for the GEMS Health Award.
The call is directed at public service teams whose implemented projects address healthcare
challenges and demonstrate measurable improvements for patients or staff. Teams in clinics,
hospitals, district offices and health units are encouraged to showcase solutions that use
resources effectively and could be replicated elsewhere. Full eligibility requirements and
submission details are available through the entry portal.
The 2025 Gold winner, Transforming Oral Health Services in the Knysna and Bitou Sub-district in
the Western Cape, brought dental care closer to rural communities by repurposing unused dental
chairs into mobile units serving five rural clinics. Waiting times fell from six months to two weeks,
while treatment capacity increased by 30%.
The Silver winner, Greytown Hospital’s Remote Learning Channel for Pharmacy Assistants and
Ward-Based Nurses, used WhatsApp, short videos and visual posters to bring training directly to
healthcare workers. The project supported better medicine management, reduced expiry-related wastage and safer patient care.
These projects show how practical changes in everyday service delivery can benefit communities
and provide models for other facilities. Teams with similar evidence of impact are encouraged to enter before the deadline.
The Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, MP, said: “The
best solutions in the public service often come from the people closest to the problem.
Repurposed dental chairs are bringing care to five rural clinics. A WhatsApp group is making
medicine safer. That is Batho Pele in action. We want to find more of these ideas, reward them and see them spread.”
The COO of GEMS, Dr Vuyo Gqola, said: “As the largest restricted medical scheme for public servants, GEMS has a vested interest in a health system that delivers meaningful outcomes. This award is more than a trophy for the shelf; it is an investment in advancing proven innovations so that more patients, across more communities, can benefit from the ingenuity and innovative solutions developed by public servants.”
The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) manages the Innovation category, overseeing
the assessment and adjudication of public sector innovations. GEMS is represented on the
Innovation Adjudication Panel, where a representative, in consultation with fellow panel members,
contributes to the selection of the winning project or projects in alignment with the Scheme’s
mandate and social investment priorities.
Enter your proven health innovation
Submit your project through the Innovation category at https://cpsiregistrations.co.za/ by Friday, October 30 2026. Media are encouraged to share this call with public service audiences to help eligible teams submit their entries in time.
Media enquiries
DPSA: Banele Ndala, Deputy Director: Digital Communications
Tel: 083 377 3217
Email: Banele.ndala@dpsa.gov.za
CPSI: Mmabatho Mashaba, Communications and Marketing
Tel: 082 044 9543
Email: Mmabatho.Mashaba@cpsi.co.za
GEMS: Bafihlile Mokoena
Tel: 073 753 1025
Email:Bafihlile@gems.gov.za
