The MJA Awards:

Celebrating excellence in health journalism

The annual MJA Awards  recognise and reward outstanding examples of health and medical journalism. Each year we review awards categories to ensure they reflect both the diversity of our membership and the media in which we work.

These include awards for news and features for general, specialist and broadcast outlets, as well as prizes for newcomers, freelancers and podcasters. We also highlight specific subjects with awards for Mental Health Story of the Year, Science Explained and the David Delvin prize for sex and sexual health journalism.

Exceptional contribution

Occasionally we recognise an exceptional contribution to communicating health and medicine with a lifetime achievement award.  Previous recipients include Dr Oliver Gillie, Dr Jonathan Miller and Claire Rayner.

Details of the 2021 MJA Awards and entry procedure.

In 2018 the MJA introduced a new award for healthcare communications agencies and in-house teams which recognises excellence in producing media materials journalists want. This award is supported the Healthcare Communications Association.

Details of the MJA Award for Excellence in PR and the entry procedure

Would you like to support our Awards?  Find out more about sponsorship opportunities.

Thank you to our 2021 sponsors.

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Roll of honour

Dr Oliver Gillie for his lifelong commitment to the advancement of communication in science and medicine and in particular in the area of Vitamin D.

Claire Rayner (OBE), the nurse, journalist, broadcaster, agony aunt and health campaigner whose last words were: “Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I’ll come back and bloody haunt him.”

Professor Jonathan Miller, the doctor, celebrated writer, broadcaster, and theatre and opera director.

Ronnie Bedford (OBE) a founder member of the MJA and legendary science reporter for the Daily Mirror who once famously asked NASA officials ‘Will the astronauts be carrying cyanide kits to the moon?’

Dr Michael O’Donnell, a physician, journalist, author, broadcaster and GMC ‘rebel’ and reformer, who presented television programmes including Is Your Brain Really Necessary and edited the ground-breaking magazine World Medicine.

Dr David Delvin, an award-winning physician, journalist, author and broadcaster who has written 27 books and appeared on more than 800 radio and TV programmes.