News and Media
CAWT, the Cross Border Health Initiative Goes On-line
Friday 27 February 2004
Accessing up-to-date information on cross border health and social care initiatives between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland has now been made easier with the launch of a new website designed and developed by Biznet. Located at www.cawt.com and managed by Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) this new resource provides a one-stop information source for cross border health.
With the growing trend for on-line access and greater Internet usage in general, this website will encourage health professionals and other people with an interest in the cross border dimension of health and social care to go on-line for information and contacts. It also means that the general public will have direct access to CAWT's projects and activities. The development cost for the website has been met by the CAWT Development Centre which is funded by Interreg IIIA in Ireland/Northern Ireland (Measure 3.2. Health and Well-being).
CAWT provides a forum for management and staff of Health Boards and Trusts, located on the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland to discuss and plan cross border health and social care activities.
The website has been developed to ensure it is a user-friendly tool to help disseminate and communicate the work of CAWT and cross border health activities in general.
Some of its key features include:
- Comprehensive sub group section to enable members to share information on current activities and projects.
- A searchable contacts directory section to allow visitors to quickly and easily access contact details of all those involved in CAWT.
- An events and news section.
- Comprehensive library of CAWT publications and reports.
- A registration facility to enable people to be notified directly when the website has been updated with new information.
Speaking at the recent launch in Armagh City Hotel, Mr Colm Donaghy, Chief Executive of the Southern Health and Social Services Board and Director General of CAWT emphasised that "this website will enable CAWT to build a stronger partnership and dialogue between all of the individuals and organisations involved in CAWT. It will also enable the boarder community and voluntary sector to engage with us more easily. My ambition for this site is that it will become a showcase for our activities and projects, a resource for the health and social care community and enable the public to have a better understanding of what we are about."
Ms Frances McReynolds, CAWT's Principal Executive Officer commented, "this is a milestone in the history of CAWT. It means that we can now conduct our business much more proactively and we are pleased to be joining the growing band of organisations who have on-line accessibility. I would like to pay tribute to all the people who have helped to create our new website and would urge people to visit the site and browse for themselves."
The development of the website was managed by CAWT's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sub group which comprises ICT professionals across the four Health Boards in the CAWT region. Welcoming its launch, Mary Corrigan, chair of the ICT sub group for much of the development phase stated, "this is not a static resource. The website is very much a work in progress, as it should be. Over the coming months we will add to the website, including the latest publications and project updates as they occur. We will listen to feedback from those who use the website to ensure it stays fresh and continues to meet their needs".
The website is now live and can be accessed on www.cawt.com