The winners of the 2025 Nursing Times Awards have been announced at a glittering ceremony held in London tonight.
Winners across 25 categories, including Rising Star, Nurse of the Year and Team of the Year, received their awards at the event, which took place at JW Marriott Grosvenor House.
“As it is every year, the biggest winner at the 2025 Nursing times Awards is nursing itself!”
Steve Ford
The Chief Nursing Officers’ Award for Lifetime Achievement went to Dr Crystal Oldman for her career-long championing of district and community nursing.
Dr Oldman was until recently the chief executive of the Queen’s Institute for Community Nursing – formerly the Queen’s Nursing Institute – a post she held for more than 12 years.
Teresa O’Nwere-Tan, an advanced nurse practitioner from Nexus Health Group and NHS South East London Integrated Care Board, won the coveted Nurse of the Year award.
The judges described her as a vibrant, dedicated nurse who’s innovative, community-based work has reduced hospital admissions and improved cardiovascular health.
Her heritage-informed and lived experience approach engages hard-to-reach, diverse groups, focusing on preventative care.
Judges said she was a passionate, humble leader and an inspirational, excellent role model for nursing.
The 2025 Nurse Leader of the Year is Emma Firth, regional primary care and safeguarding lead for Practice Plus Group.
Her compassionate leadership has transformed care for vulnerable prison populations, especially women, and inspired colleagues through mentorship, advocacy and reflective practice.
The judges highlighted our winner’s commitment to patient-centred care and staff wellbeing, which uplifts both individuals and systems.
Her leadership style has created a culture where “What would Emma do?” is a guiding mantra, reflecting the deep respect she has earnt.
Our Rising star this year is Jordan Spires, from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. Since qualifying, he has championed diversity, autism-informed care and inclusivity through his role supporting implementation of the NHS England Culture of Care Programme.
Recognised for his creativity and passion, he is leading transformative mental health initiatives across multiple services, including five inpatient wards.
Judges said the initiatives he has developed, such as sensory spaces, simulation training and newsletters, have shown real impacts on the experience and outcomes of those accessing mental health services.
Among the other major categories, the King’s Award for Integrated Approaches to Care went to the Milk Bank at Chester for its standout initiative, the Memory Milk Gift Initiative.
This project raises awareness of lactation choices following antenatal loss and supports families to donate milk in memory of their babies.
The Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Award for Inclusivity in Nursing and Midwifery was won by South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub for its ReSTORE Refugee Nursing Programme.
This compassionate, nurse-led initiative helps refugee nurses enter the NHS, restoring their professional identity and promoting economic independence.
Returning for a second year is the Sustainability in Nursing and Midwifery award. It was won by East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust for the outstanding Greener Emergency Response System project.
This nurse-led innovation impressed judges with a smart approach to reducing waste, such as swapping resources between departments and better organisation of resus equipment, which demonstrates a commitment to improving patient safety while championing environmental sustainability.
Judges praised the measurable impact in reducing waste, saving nursing time, financial benefits and influencing NHS green policy. They said this work truly proves that environmental sustainability is not optional, it is leadership in action!
Commenting on the ceremony, Steve Ford, editor of Nursing Times, said: “The Nursing Times Awards is one of my favourite nights of the year.
“It is always a genuine honour to share an evening with such inspiring and innovative members of the nursing and midwifery professions, and to celebrate their achievements and positive impact on patient care.
“I was especially pleased to see the second ever trophy given out for the Sustainability in Nursing and Midwifery category, which was back again after we first introduced it last year.
“Huge congratulations to all of our 2025 winners and very well done to our finalists for the achievement of making the shortlist in a highly competitive set of categories.
“As it is every year, the biggest winner at the 2025 Nursing times Awards is nursing itself!”
Full list of 2025 Nursing Times Award winners:
Ann Shuttleworth Rising Star Award – Jordan Spires
Care of Older People – Sanctuary Care
Chief Nursing Officer’s Award for Lifetime Achievement – Dr Crystal Oldman
Children’s Services – Barts Health NHS Trust and North East London Integrated Care Board
Clinical Research Nursing – Newcastle GP Services (Award sponsored by the National Institute for Health and Care Research)
Continence Promotion and Care – Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Critical and Emergency Care Nursing – Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Award for Inclusivity in Nursing and Midwifery – South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub
Infection Prevention and Control – Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Ingrid Fuchs Award for Cancer Nursing – Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The King’s Award for Integrated Approaches to Care – Milk Bank at Chester (Award sponsored by Nuffield Health)
Learning Disabilities Nursing – Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust
Midwife of the Year – Dalvir Kandola
Nurse Leader of the Year – Emma Firth
Nurse of the Year – Teresa O’Nwere-Tan
Nursing in Mental Health – Achieve Together
Nursing in Primary Care – Primary Care 24
Nursing in Social Care – Maria Mallaband Care Group
Nursing in the Community – Primary Care 24
Patient Safety Improvement – Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Public Health Nursing – University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Sustainability in Nursing and Midwifery – East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
Team of the Year – Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (Award sponsored by Unison)
Technology and Data in Nursing – Worksights
Theatre and Surgical Nursing – Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Nursing Times Awards timeline