Some nurses stand out from the moment they enter the profession. They are natural leaders whose motivation is to constantly improve the quality of their own practice and of the services they work in.

Their caring natures ensure they will not only offer compassionate care themselves, but will demand it of those around them and raise concerns if it falls short. They have the capacity to develop essential nursing skills quickly, the creativity to innovate and reshape services, and the ability to engage and motivate those around them. Nurses like these will be a positive influence on the profession throughout their careers.

This award aims to recognise a nurse working in the NHS or independent sector who has been qualified for less than five years, and demonstrates exceptional qualities that embody the best of nursing and the leadership skills to inspire others to follow their example.

We welcome entries from candidates themselves or nominations from those who wish to highlight a nurse who they believe merit this recognition.

There are thousands of excellent midwives working in the NHS and independent sector. However, a select few stand out as truly exceptional.

Launched in 2023 and set to become one of our most prestigious annual awards, the Midwife of the Year category aims to recognise an individual working in the NHS or independent sector who has gone above and beyond what is expected of them in their day-to-day role and have truly made a difference.

Candidates can be at any stage in their midwifery career, but should have undertaken a piece of work or delivered a service improvement on their own initiative that has required inspiration, determination and creativity.

It must have had tangible positive outcomes, such as demonstrable improvements in patient care or in the effectiveness of service provision. We welcome entries from candidates themselves or nominations from those who wish to highlight a nurse who they believe merits this recognition.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Clinical leaders have a fundamental role in ensuring the quality of nursing practice and patient care. The best community team leaders, ward managers and others lead by example, acting as excellent role models and demonstrating compassion and a commitment to ensuring their service offers the highest quality and safest care possible.

They are aware of their patients’ needs and are firm advocates on their behalf, understand the importance of informing and reassuring patients and relatives, and have the skills to lead, support and motivate a team that is committed to offering excellent and compassionate care to all patients.

This award category aims to recognise an exceptional nurse leader working in the NHS or independent sector who embodies these qualities. It is open to any nurse, working in the community or in an acute environment, who is leading a team of any size. We welcome entries from candidates themselves or nominations from those who wish to highlight a leader who they believe merits this recognition.

There are thousands of excellent nurses working in the NHS and independent sector. However, a select few stand out as truly exceptional.

One of our most prestigious annual awards, the Nurse of the Year category aims to recognise an individual working in the NHS or independent sector who has gone above and beyond what is expected of them in their day-to-day role and have truly made a difference.

Candidates can be at any stage in their nursing career, but should have undertaken a piece of work or delivered a service improvement on their own initiative that has required inspiration, determination and creativity.

It must have had tangible positive outcomes, such as demonstrable improvements in patient care or in the effectiveness of service provision. We welcome entries from candidates themselves or nominations from those who wish to highlight a nurse who they believe merits this recognition.

As life expectancy has increased so has the number of older people with complex health and care needs. These patients are cared for in nearly all health and social care settings, and the vast majority of nurses will care for frail older people at some time.

However, while a growing older population is driving greater demand for health and care services overall, there are also opportunities to improve health in later life and to develop more appropriate services that may reduce demand for more expensive care.

This award seeks to highlight the excellent care being provided by nursing staff for older patients and shine a light on innovation in an area that is far too often ignored.

It is open to individual nurses or teams working in any setting in the NHS or independent sector who have developed initiatives specifically to ensure older people receive the best possible care or retain their health and independence.

 Examples might include initiatives to:

• Enable older people to live independently for as long as possible
• Improve the care offered to older people in community settings
• Improve the care offered to older people in hospital settings

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare your submission to previous years.

Health and wellbeing in the early years of life influences health in adulthood, so the delivery of high-quality care is crucial from birth to the teenage years.

In addition to providing skilled clinical care, nurses working in children’s services act as advocates for their patients. They often become trusted carers for children with long-term conditions, seeing them grow up, learn to take control of their own health and transition to adult services.

They also provide care in partnership with families and need to be able to develop trusting relationships with them while acting in their patients’ best interests and supporting their autonomy as appropriate.

This award is open to individual nurses or teams working in the NHS or independent sector with patients from neonates to adolescents in any care setting. Entrants should demonstrate innovation and evidence of improved outcomes of care that involves families and/or empowers adolescents.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Help the parents of neonates in intensive care to be involved in their baby’s care
• Reduce anxiety of children awaiting surgery
• Help adolescents with long-term conditions to take responsibility for managing their own health

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Clinical research nursing is an important and rapidly growing specialty, which promotes and develops the vital role of nurses in the delivery of high-quality clinical research.

Ensuring a vibrant clinical research culture throughout the health and social care system is essential to finding new and innovative solutions to health and care needs.

This award is open to individual nurses or teams from the health and social care sector. It aims to recognise initiatives that contribute to achieving the NIHR’s strategic priorities outlined in Best Research for Best Health: the Next Chapter.

Therefore we are looking for applications which reflect at least one of the following:

● Improving awareness and understanding of clinical research nursing by actively promoting the relationship between high-quality care and research outcomes

● Demonstrating leadership to share best clinical research nursing practice locally, nationally or internationally

● Dynamically connecting with colleagues to network best practice for clinical research nursing using a wide variety of media

● Actively promoting patient involvement and engagement ensuring increased opportunities for patients, families and communities to access clinical research opportunities

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse-led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare your submission to previous years.

Bowel and bladder problems can have a devastating effect on quality of life and dignity, both for patients who are dependent on others due to physical or mental disability, and for those who are otherwise independent.

This category rewards initiatives and innovations that promote continence, increase the effectiveness of care and improve the quality of life of people who have continence problems, whether temporarily or permanently.

This award is open to individual nurses or teams working in any setting in the NHS or independent sector – including nursing and residential homes – and those working in specialist continence services.

Entrants must be able to demonstrate how a change in practice, extending their scope of practice, or an innovation or development has resulted in clear improvements in patients’ or clients’ continence or enhanced their dignity by minimising the impact of continence problems.

Innovations could include:

• Developing educational programmes staff and/or patients to increase understanding of continence problems and how to address them
• Improving access to continence advice and care
• Meeting the needs of a new client group

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Nurses working in critical care and emergency care settings deal with patients whose very survival often depends on the quality of care they receive.

These nurses need high levels of skill and expertise, and the ability to think and act quickly in a crisis. They also need to be able to support patients’ families and friends in what are often highly distressing situations, while maintaining a focus on their patients’ best interests.

This award is open to individual nurses or teams working in the NHS or independent sector who can demonstrate performance that has contributed to a significant improvement in the quality of patient care in emergency or critical care settings.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Set up services to meet the needs of specific patient groups or address specific injuries or conditions
• Improve the experiences of patients, or their families, in critical care settings
• Improve collaboration between emergency or critical settings and other areas of care

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Patient care should be equal regardless of people’s individual differences but, sadly, progress still needs to be made across the board on diversity, equity and inclusion in health and social care.

There are, however, already many nurses and midwives making a difference. This category was launched in 2023, in partnership with Institute of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, to champion inclusive patient care. Returning for a second year, this prestigious award is open to individuals or teams working in the NHS or independent sector.

It aims to shine a light on the work of those who have had a significant impact on improving diversity, equity and inclusion in patient care. Named in honour of Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu the UK’s first sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse specialist, this award will recognise those who work with and care for diverse populations, communities and groups. 

Inclusive care can improve outcomes for groups with protected characteristics such as age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and disability. Likewise, care improvements result from more inclusive access to maternity care and to treatment for people affected by conditions from HIV to cancer to mental health. 

We are interested in entries based on projects and innovations that focus on inclusive health care. Projects and innovations must be nurse- or midwife-led and demonstrate inclusivity in nursing and midwifery. 

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Improvements in treatment and care mean an increasing number of patients are living with long-term conditions. While these advances are very much welcome, they often lead to an increase in demand on health and care services.

This category seeks to recognise nurses whose work is reducing the burden on the health service by preventing ill-health and/or offering truly holistic care to patients who have long-term conditions or complex needs.

This prestigious award, which was established and named for the then Prince of Wales in 2014, is open to individual nurses or teams working in the NHS or independent sector.

It seeks to recognise nurses working in any setting who have collaborated with other organisations, such as those from the voluntary and/or third sector, to promote public health and prevent disease and/or manage long-term conditions in a holistic and integrated way that improves patients’ quality of life and independence.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Use evidence-based complementary therapies or other non-biomedical interventions to complement conventional healthcare approaches in treating the whole patient
• Use nursing (and the wider multidisciplinary team) to improve patients’ mental and physical health and wellbeing, rather than simply treating their presenting disease or condition
• Manage long-term conditions in an integrated way that is led by patients’ needs, which might reduce the need for medication or professional input through the use of lifestyle or evidence-based complementary approaches in support of conventional care
• Help provide patients/service users with a personalised non-medical intervention that has reduced use of NHS resources

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Infection prevention and control remains a major challenge in health and care settings. Nurses at all levels and in all specialties and environments are involved in initiatives aimed at preventing or minimising the spread of infection.

This award is open to individual nurses or teams working in acute or community settings, in the NHS or independent sector, and aims to recognise projects that take an innovative approach to this important area of practice. Entrants may be infection prevention and control specialist nurses, or general nurses in any clinical specialty.

They should have implemented an initiative to improve practice within their immediate area or more widely across their organisation or community, be able to demonstrate clear outcomes and show that their initiative has changed practice or procedures and reduced infection-related risks.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Increase staff awareness of and compliance with infection prevention and control procedures
• Involve patients and visitors in improving infection prevention and control
• Reduce patients’ risk of infection in community settings

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

The nature of cancer care is constantly changing as new forms of treatment are introduced to try and improve survival rates. However, cancer remains a devastating disease and patients need both skilled clinical care and intensive support while receiving treatment and, increasingly, in managing the long-term effects of the disease after treatment.

Nurses are the linchpin of the cancer care team, managing complex new treatment regimens, coordinating care and ensuring patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment. They are also the professionals that patients turn to for emotional and practical support, and they need to be able to offer this in a compassionate manner and adapt it to individual patients’ needs.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Streamline care pathways to reduce waiting times for diagnosis or treatment
• Extend the scope of nursing practice in order to improve care
• Address practical or emotional issues faced by patients receiving treatment or beyond

This award is open to individual nurses or teams from the NHS or independent sector who have improved the quality of care that patients with cancer receive during diagnosis, treatment and beyond.

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare your submission to previous years.

People with learning disabilities are among the most vulnerable and excluded in society.

Learning disabilities nurses have a unique role in supporting people, their families and carers to achieve and maintain good health, wellbeing and their full potential. They work to break down barriers that may prevent participation in society, or result in health inequalities or ill health.

This award is open to individual registered learning disability nurses or learning disability nurse teams working in acute or community settings, in the NHS or independent sector.

Entrants must be able to demonstrate the benefits of their work in terms of evidence-based, person-centred practice sustaining health and improving quality of life.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Sustain and improve health and wellbeing
• Address issues of health inequalities, reduced life expectancy and premature mortality
• Reduce and effectively manage risks
• Facilitate co-production, enable self-advocacy and family engagement and partnership
• Enable reasonable adjustments
• Improve team working and effectiveness
• Demonstrate positive health outcomes
• Promote social inclusion and participation in community activities
• Encourage equality of access to healthcare
• Increase independence and resilience
• Promote opportunities for people with learning disabilities to participate in service design or staff training
• Promote positive value base and reduce barriers

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Nurses working in community settings need to be able to work independently, sometimes in less-than-ideal environments and without access to the levels of support and equipment that other may nurses take for granted.

They often develop long-term therapeutic relationships with patients, many of whom are isolated and vulnerable, and reduce pressures on hospital services by facilitating early discharge or enabling patients to remain at home.

This award category is open to individuals and teams working in the NHS or independent sector and from any community care setting.

Entrants must be able to demonstrate their work has improved patient care or the effectiveness of their service and has outcomes to demonstrate this.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Enable more patients to be successfully discharged and supported in the community
• Extend the boundaries of care offered to patients in their own homes
• Increase the uptake of services by hard-to-reach groups

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

People with mental health problems need therapeutic interventions that increase their independence and/or empower them to manage their condition and recognise triggers that may result in relapse or exacerbation.

Their intensive involvement means nurses make a huge contribution to the care of these patients and clients, whether in community or inpatient settings, working in general or specialist mental healthcare services.

This award category is open to individuals and teams working in the NHS or independent sector who have developed initiatives that have improved the delivery of mental health care.

Entrants should be able to demonstrate the benefits of their work in terms of improved quality of life or increased independence of their patient or client group.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Enable hard-to-reach groups to access mental health services
• Improve the quality of life of patients in secure mental health settings
• Improve the mental health of people within the prison system

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Great work is being done up and down the country by general practice nurses and other members of the profession based in primary care settings, often under formidable pressure due to demand on their services. Launched in 2023 and returning this year is our award specifically for primary care nursing. 

Primary care services are the ‘gatekeepers’ of healthcare provision, meaning nurses working in such settings play a vital and varied role for their patient population, often being the most regular and recognised contact for both younger and older patients.  

Among many other things, they will assess, screen, treat and educate patients, as well as supporting other members of the primary care team. In particular, they will take a leading role in helping patients to manage long-term conditions and minimise its effect on their life.

This award category sets out to celebrate either an individual nurse or nursing team that has made a real difference to the provision of care in their practice.

It is open to those working in the NHS or independent sector and from any primary care setting. Entrants must be able to demonstrate their work has improved patient care or the effectiveness of their service and has outcomes to demonstrate this.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Create innovative new clinics for specific patient groups
• Promote primary care as a learning environment for student nurses
• Increasing sustainability in the procurement of clinical products

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

This award recognises the enormous contributions made by nursing staff working in social care.

We are keen to recognise the leadership of nurses working in care homes, learning disability or autism services, domiciliary care and other social care settings. However, the entry is open to all.

Social care is often multi-faceted, with nurses managing complex health needs, carrying out assessments and providing leadership for other staff. Nurses in social care also play a critical role in championing innovation, all of which we want to recognise and celebrate through this award category.

It is open to individuals and teams working in social care either local government or independent sector organisations. Entrants must be able to demonstrate their work has made an important improvement in promoting and improving health and care in social care settings.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Innovate to increase physical or mental activity among residents  
• Improve access to external health and care programmes or initiatives
• Innovate to maintain care quality and safety during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Improve the experience of people within Care Homes or Supported living settings, or in their own home

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

High-profile care failings, such as those at the former Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and more recent examples, have illustrated what happens when patient safety is not seen as a key priority, while winter pressures combined with severe nursing shortages often lead to concerns that safety is being compromised. 

As the professionals with the greatest amount of patient contact, nurses play a vital role in ensuring patients’ safety at every stage in their care.

This category is open to individuals or teams from the NHS or independent sector who have undertaken an initiative to address factors that place patients at risk and promote safety as an essential part of healthcare. Entrants should have clear outcomes demonstrating improvements in patient safety.

Examples may include:

• Reducing the incidence of falls
• Improving safety in the prescription and administration of medicines
• Reducing delays to treatment or minimising the risks associated with delays

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

This award recognises the important role that the nursing profession plays in promoting and protecting the public’s health.

We are keen to recognise the leadership of specialist public health nurses, such as health visitors, school nurses and health protection practitioners. However, the entry is open to all nurses who play a role in protecting and improving the public’s health.

Delete: The Covid-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of public health nursing, whether that’s working as a specialist public health nurse or a nurse working across the health and care system, you all play a vital role. 

It can cover many public health issues such as smoking cessation, sexual health, tackling obesity, to promoting uptake of immunisations and screening programmes. Nurses also play a critical role in addressing health inequalities, all of which we want to recognise and celebrate through this category.

This award is open to individuals and teams working in the NHS, local government, social care or independent sector. Entrants must be able to demonstrate their work has made an important improvement in promoting and protecting the public’s health.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Increase physical activity or tackle obesity
• Improve access to screening or immunisation programmes
• Develop services in specialist public health services such as health visiting and school nursing
• Address health inequalities

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Action on sustainability and green issues, both political and practical, is required at every level to tackle the climate crisis that is affecting the world.

Arguably, the health and care sector has been slower than others in prioritising sustainability and green policies, in part due to infection prevention and control policies among other things.

While it is starting to make up ground, there is still much to do and many opportunities for those working in the sector with ideas and innovations to make a real difference.

Supporting action to improve sustainability by nurses and midwives is a key aim of Nursing Times and one of the main reasons that we are launching this new category dedicated to green issues.  

This award seeks to recognise an individual or small group or team of nurses or midwives that has made an exceptional contribution to promoting sustainability and green issues.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Improve sustainability nationally, regionally or locally while working in nursing or midwifery
• Meaningly contribute to improving equipment sustainability in your workplace
• Enhance the living environment in which colleagues or staff work or are trained
• Positively influence trust or employer policy on sustainability or green issues

This award category is open to individual nurses or midwives, or teams of nurses and midwives, from the NHS or independent sector, working in any type of health or social care setting.

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

High-quality healthcare is a team effort, often involving collaboration between a range of professions. This is particularly important in the development and implementation of initiatives to improve healthcare delivery.

This category is open to teams from the NHS or independent sector who have undertaken projects that demonstrate the value of teamwork in improving a service.

Entrants must show how an entire team has contributed to the initiative, its implementation and ongoing delivery, demonstrating the input of different team members and/or collaboration with other specialties, professions and/or services. They must also be able to demonstrate the benefits of their initiative to patient care or service delivery.

Examples may include initiatives to:

• Develop a seamless care pathway involving multiple specialties or services
• Implement a service development across an organisation to involve all staff in improving patients’ experience of care
• Improving continuity of care by developing new methods of sharing of information

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

There has been a noticeable acceleration in the adoption of digital technology across health and care in recent years, with more nurses involved at every stage than ever before.

The use of technology and data can transform the delivery of care by making data and metrics visible to healthcare providers about their services in formats that can be interrogated in numerous ways, for example, to evaluate effectiveness or analyse trends. This can increase understanding of outcomes and lead to improved care and/or increased efficiency.

This award is open to individuals and teams working in the NHS or independent sector, and recognises initiatives that have used technology and data in a truly innovative and patient-focused way to improve healthcare provision.

Entrants must be able to demonstrate the benefits of their initiatives in terms of improved health outcomes, patient experience or service effectiveness.

Examples may include:

• Introducing technology to capture data that is accessible to all professionals and services involved in individual patients’ care
• Using existing technology in new ways to increase its benefits
• Developing new ways of capturing data on patient outcomes or service effectiveness

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.

Nurses working in the perioperative environment care for patients at their most vulnerable. Surgery is a daunting prospect for most people, and nurses are the professionals they rely on not only for clinical skills but also to offer psychological support and to act as advocates to those under general anaesthesia.

This award is open to individuals and teams working in the NHS or independent sector in any aspect of perioperative care. Entrants must demonstrate clear benefits of their initiative, for example, in better use of resources, reduced length of hospital stay or improved patient experience.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Improve pre-operative assessment and patient preparation
• Reduce cancellations
• Improve patient safety in the surgical department

Entries must feature projects and innovations that are nurse led or be able to demonstrate that nurses played a significant leadership role in steering the initiative as part of a multidisciplinary team.

If you are resubmitting a project or innovation that you have entered in these awards before, please ensure you show the changes or progress made within the last 12 months, as the judges will compare you submission to previous years.