A reporter at a Scottish daily has beaten off competition from across the country to scoop a health journalism award.

Adam Morris, from the Edinburgh Evening News, has won the best regional health feature title at the Guild of Health Writers Awards.

The health reporter secured the award for an article headlined ‘Mum’s tragic plea: Don’t let me die in here’ about a dementia patient who in a moment of lucidity pleaded with her son not to let her die in the city’s Royal Victoria Hospital.

Judges were impressed by Adam’s sensitive and powerful reporting on the issue, which led to the patient being moved to another hospital where her needs could be better met.

The runner-up for the regional health feature title was Warren Manger for an article called ‘Richard’s medical marvels’ in the Coventry Telegraph.

Journalists from national newspapers, magazines and broadcasters were among those receiving awards at the ceremony, which was held in London last week and attended by around 120 people.

Paul Dinsdale, chair of the Guild’s judging panel, said: “At a time when many journalists are facing tighter editorial budgets, reduced issue sizes and even redundancy, the winning entries displayed a fantastic range of subject matter and a very high standard of work, which shows that good health journalism is thriving despite the recession.”