Press Releases

HFE appoints Mary Banotti as its new Honorary President

21 November 2007

Health First Europe Appoints New President - Brussels, 15 November, 2007

Health First Europe is delighted to announce the appointment of Mary Banotti as its new Honorary President. Her main responsibility is to continue along with other Health First Europe members to facilitate dialogue on the future of healthcare in Europe at a time of significant demographic and technological change.

Born in Dublin, Ms Banotti is a respected politician and leader both in Ireland and the EU. She brings to her new role a depth of experience in the field of healthcare development and nursing in particular. She spent 20 years in the European Parliament and for 5 years was a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

In October Ms Banotti chaired Health First Europe’s highly successful event on healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) to highlight their dramatic effects on patients and healthcare systems and the urgent need for the EU to address a crisis that currently kills 50,000 people in the EU each year.¹

Health First Europe is delighted to welcome Ms Banotti, who said: “I am very much looking forward to my new role as Honorary President of Health First Europe. The organisation has come a long way since its inception in 2004".

“However, there is no room for complacency and still much work to be done at EU and national level to address critical issues that ultimately affect the quality of life of citizens all over Europe. I worked as a nurse in various EU Member States and I am fully aware that Europe needs to address vital healthcare issues such as the development of flexible modes of healthcare delivery and the provision of innovative medical technology and healthcare information within EU Member States”

David Byrne, Patron of Health First Europe and former European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, added: “While we say a big thank you to Mel for her sterling work, we also welcome Mary whom we believe has the necessary attributes and experience to add real value to our ongoing work”.

Notes to Editors:

For further information on Mary Banotti, visit www.banotti.ie.

¹ As Markos Kyprianou, European Commissioner for Health, noted in the First European Communicable Disease Epidemiological Report 2007, there are approximately three million HCAIs and 50,000 attributable deaths in the European Union each year, and one in ten patients who receive hospital treatment acquires a HCAI. Health First Europe welcomes Commissioner Kyprianou’s recent commitment that the Commission and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will prioritise the issue in 2008.

Established in 2004, Health First Europe is a not-for-profit, non-commercial alliance of patients, healthcare workers, academics, healthcare experts and the medical technology industry. Its primary aim is to ensure that healthcare is regarded as a vital investment in the future of Europe and that every European citizen should benefit from the best medical treatments available.

As part of a series of awareness-raising activities, Health First Europe organises events and issues publications with the aim of communicating the following core messages to EU decision-makers and opinion leaders:

• There are weaknesses in European healthcare systems; a re-think is required in order to meet current and future health challenges
• Patients and clinicians should have equitable access to modern, innovative and reliable medical technology
• The development of new and flexible modes of healthcare delivery will benefit both patients and healthcare providers
• “Health equals wealth”. Health is a productive economic factor in terms of employment, innovation and economic growth.

For further information on Health First Europe, visit www.healthfirsteurope.org