Nursing staff at London Northwest University Healthcare NHS Trust walked away with two trophies last night at the annual Nursing Times Workforce Awards.
Sister Cecilia Lam, from the trust’s neonatal unit, was named Preceptor of the Year, while Danielle Owens won the award for Preceptee of the Year.
“There is much to celebrate and share when it comes to workforce solutions, which is what our awards are all about”
Steve Ford
The judges said Ms Lam was an inspirational role model whose decades of excellence have guided and uplifted others.
Her commitment to sharing knowledge and supporting peers has made an exceptional impact across the profession.
Meanwhile, the judges described Ms Owens as a visionary who has transformed student nurse learning by redesigning resources that boosted confidence and improved care.
Her compassion, collaboration and innovation have made a lasting difference to both staff and patients, they said.
Now in their eighth year, the awards celebrate the nurses, midwives and employers making a real difference in key areas such as staff recruitment, retention, wellbeing and inclusion.
The winners of the 18 categories were announced during a ceremony at the Hilton London Metropole on Wednesday 26 November.
The biggest award of the night, for Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff, went to North Bristol NHS Trust and its Proud to Belong initiative.
The judges said Noth Bristol’s entry was “truly outstanding”, demonstrating the power of nursing leadership in driving sustainable improvement.
Its data-driven and comprehensive approach clearly showed how nursing excellence could deliver measurable outcomes, embed a culture of belonging and create lasting impact across services.
The trophy for Workforce Team of the Year, sponsored by NHS Professionals, was won by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust for widening participation for nursing students.
In addition, Lyndsey Dunn, from Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, was named Nurse Manager of the Year.
Steve Ford, editor of Nursing Times and host of the awards, said: “The workforce conundrum is ongoing: how does the health and social care system ensure it has sufficient nursing staff?
“The domestic pipeline of nurses is struggling, with some universities closing courses. Possibly worse, despite staff shortages, newly qualified nurses are finding it increasingly hard to secure their first job due to NHS budget restraints.
“Meanwhile, there is government pressure to reduce both spending on agency nursing staff and reliance on overseas recruitment. New national policy plans have been promised to help health and social care leaders find their way through some of these challenges.
“However, pioneering organisations and talented managers are already coming up with their own innovations and ideas to solve or ease workforce problems at a local level. There is much to celebrate and share when it comes to workforce solutions, which is what our awards are all about.
“I hope that the Nursing Times Workforce Awards can go some small way to recognising the effort, skill and innovation shown by nursing and midwifery workforce staff across the country. Once again, well done to all our 2025 winners.”
Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff: North Bristol NHS Trust
The full list of winners
Best Use of Workplace Technology: The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust – The introduction of artificial intelligence to create a real-time list of all newly diagnosed blood clots
Best Recruitment Experience: Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – New to Care: Collaborative Recruitment
Best International Recruitment Experience (sponsored by OET): King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – ASM transition programme
Best Social Responsibility Programme: Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – Mentoring Circle Programme
Best Staff Wellbeing Initiative: Practice Plus Group – Wellbeing cupboards: Cutting cost-of-living pressures for Health in Justice colleagues
Best Workplace for Learning and Development: NHS England London region – CapitalNurse: Flexible Working: Getting it Right for Your Team
Best Employer for Staff Recognition and Engagement: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust – MTW Acute Virtual Ward
Best Employer for Diversity and Inclusion: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust – ReSTORE
Preceptorship Programme of the Year: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust – THRIVE Programme
Preceptor of the Year: Sister Cecilia Lam, Neonatal Unit, London Northwest University Healthcare NHS Trust
Preceptee of the Year: Danielle Owens, London Northwest University Healthcare NHS Trust
Practice Educator of the Year: Kristle Bravo, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year: Chidinma Victory Oforji, University of Salford
Manager of the Year (Non Clinical): Emma Addie, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Nurse Manager of the Year: Lyndsey Dunn, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership
Overseas Nurse of the Year: Angela Agore, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
Workforce Team of the Year (sponsored by NHS Professionals): Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust – Widening Participation for Nursing Students
Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff: North Bristol NHS Trust – Proud to Belong
