Judges

I am a globally educated nurse working in in UK since 2000 and worked at different levels developing myself to the current level of Divisional Director of Nursing, surgery and Peri-op care through continuous personal and professional development. I have worked with multiple NHS organisations managing and leading multidisciplinary team. Have experience of managing major organisational change where two big hospitals merged to form one of the biggest NHS organisations in UK. I am experienced in undertaking establishment review and introducing new roles to address the changing service demands of the service. I undertake and lead on Patient Safety Investigation Framework investigations to address the patient and staff safety concerns. I am also interested in development of workforce and train and support upcoming leaders. Quality, Governance, Patient and staff safety and experience is my passion and always thrive to ‘get it right for the first time’. My passion is to create a work culture where just culture in nurtured taking human factors taken in to consideration when untoward incident happen.

Chris joined North Central London Integrated Care Board (ICB) as Chief Nurse in May 2022 from Tavistock & Portman NHS FT where she was Executive Director of Nursing, Director of System Workforce Development and Director for Patient Experience. For the 18 months prior to her move to the ICB Chris combined her role in the Trust with the role of Interim Chief Nurse for NCL Integrated Care System. During the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 Chris was seconded to Health Education England (HEE) as Director of Nursing for HEE’s covid response across London. Chris was previously Programme Director for the CapitalNurse Programme, working across London for HEE, NHS England and NHS Improvement on a programme of collective action to build and sustain high quality nursing workforce across London. Prior to that she was Dean for Healthcare Professions at HEE. Other past roles include Assistant Director of Nursing, Education and Organisational Development at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London as well as a range of roles in education, clinical practice and policy at local and national level. Chris is a Visiting Professor at Middlesex University. Chris is a registered nurse in adult and children’s nursing and a registered nurse teacher. She has postgraduate degrees in Health Psychology and Nurse Education and gained her Doctorate from Ashridge Business School focusing on organisational change. Chris is passionate about applying relational and creative approaches to system leadership to achieve sustainable transformation through collective action systems leadership and integrated working to drive improvements in health and care to reduce inequalities and improve population health.

Michael Cervantes is an Internationally Educated Registered Nurse from the Philippines with a strong background as both a clinician and an improver in the NHS for the last 10 years. He has over 5 years of clinical experience in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nursing as an IBD Clinical Nurse Specialist. In this role, and also as a Non-Medical Prescriber, he was able to make a significant impact in the lives of patients with IBD through specialised nursing care, health education, and proactive support. Michael recently completed a 13-month career development secondment as a Transformation Fellow followed by a 6-month dual clinical and project manager role. During this time, he helped drive and implement innovative changes in his trust. Currently, he works as a Project Manager of the Digital Patient Pathway Management (DPPM) Programme team with a specific focus in the implementation and adoption of digital solutions from the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP). Michael believes that his nursing experience provides depth to his project management role as he helps bring impactful changes in his trust through the successful deployment of digital tools as enablers to enhance patient outcomes, staff experience, and better use of resources.

Stella is currently the Lead Nurse Therapies- having recently retired from her post as Head of Quality and Patient Safety Improvement (Deputy Chief Nurse) for Halton Place, Cheshire and Merseyside ICB. Stella has significant experience in patient safety, quality improvement and governance assurance. Having graduated from Kings College Hospital in 1991, Stella has worked globally, nationally and locally both as a clinician and strategist within the specialisms of offender health, substance misuse and personality disorder - gaining academic recognition within the fields of addiction, mental health and toxicology. Stella is a Queens Nurse, who has previously won the NT Nurse Leader of the Year 2019 for leadership in offender healthcare - recognised further with MBE Honours for Transformation of Prison Health and Social Care. Stella has been participating in the Nursing Times Judging Panel for several years now actively supporting various networks, championing the development of nursing and practice innovation.

Sarah Hayes joined East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, as Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer on 18 September 2023. She has more than 18 years’ senior management and leadership experience in the NHS. She is experienced in both hospital and community settings. Sarah was Chief Nurse at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust. She had held this post since December 2019. In that time, she worked on initiatives to improve patient care and experience. Sarah also championed and strengthened nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals and leadership. In 2019, Sarah was awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse. This was in recognition of her commitment to patient care and nursing practice. Previously, Sarah was deputy chief nurse at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital NHS Trust.

I am currently working as a Senior Clinical Site Manager at Barts Health NHS Trust. I was formerly a Clinical Site Practitioner at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Junior Charge Nurse at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Since the pandemic started, I devoted myself to serving through leadership and management roles in the NHS. I am on the verge of finishing my Master of Science in Cardiorespiratory Nursing programme (Buckinghamshire New University / Royal Brompton Hospital) as well as Master of International Health programme (University of the Philippines - Open University). I gained my Master of Arts in Nursing degree from University of the Philippines specializing in Maternal and Child Health and in 2011, I graduated as Magna Cum Laude at the Far Eastern University – Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF) for my nursing baccalaureate. My early years in the field of nursing were spent in Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital (DJFMH) and St. Luke’s Medical Center – Quezon City (SLMC-QC) in the Philippines as a maternal and child nurse and emergency care nurse respectively. Eventually, I ventured into a managerial role in the Emergency Department in Medcor Pasig Hospital and Medical Center (MPHMC) before I left my home country to work abroad.

Gwen has extensive experience of person-centred working with people who have learning disabilities, families, advocates, health professionals and others to improve the quality of health experiences and outcomes. She has worked with a wide range of health needs and complexity across inpatient and community care and been influential in changing and developing services. She developed pain profiles designed to help professionals identify the likely presence of pain in people with complex communication needs. Gwen co-created the Health Equalities Framework (HEF and CYP HEF); and the Moulster & Griffiths Learning Disability Nursing Model (2012) with Tom Griffiths (latest revision 2021). She works with a range of health organisations to support implementation of the model in practice, enabling it to be embedded in electronic patient records. Gwen was awarded an OBE in Queen Elizabeth 2nd's 90th birthday honours in 2016, for services to people with learning disabilities and nursing.

Maritess finished her nursing degree in the Philippines, before moving to the UK to work in an acute hospital. She completed her District Nursing qualification at Kings College London and became a qualified District Nurse. Eventually, Maritess transferred to East London, became a community matron, and achieved her Non-Medical Prescribing Qualification. She worked in a nursing home for older people and subsequently joined North Central London CCG as a Quality Assurance nurse for care homes. In 2020, Maritess completed her MSc in Global Issues in Ageing and Gerontology at the University of Stirling. She was a recipient of the RCN Foundation Mona Grey Award 2022 for an outstanding achievement in professional development. Additionally, Maritess is a Queen’s Nursing Institute Elsie Wagg Innovation Scholar (2022) and a Queen’s Nurse. She is currently working as a Quality Assurance Nurse with the NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board.

Caroline Nyawira is the Head of Maternity and Neonatal Transformation and a Core20PLUS Ambassador, committed to driving improvements in maternity and neonatal care across the UK. With over 10 years of neonatal clinical experience and a strong background in leadership and quality improvement, Caroline specialises in leveraging digital tools and data to enhance patient safety and outcomes. She is passionate about initiatives that streamline care pathways, optimise workforce development, and improve access to care for diverse communities. Caroline’s expertise includes integrating digital platforms to improve service delivery and using data to inform policy and practice.

Rachel Perry is the Research Nurse at Marie Curie Hospice West Midlands. Her role involves day-to-day management of studies conducted within the Marie Curie West Midlands Place Base Team; raising awareness of research; and, supporting staff and students to undertake research and disseminate their work. Rachel is passionate about offering opportunities for patients, families, carers, volunteers and staff to share their experiences and participate in research, which is essential to improve palliative care for all. Rachel’s commitment to widening opportunities and building research capacity has been recognised in several awards, including the Marie Curie Susie Wilkinson award in 2014, the NIHR and Charities Consortium for Hospice and Community Care Research award in 2018, and as part of Marie Curie’s national research nurse team winning the Nursing Times Clinical Research Nursing category award (2024).

Stefano Pochetti is a registered nurse working as Head of Clinical Programmes in the Professional and System Development team at NHS England – South East Region, where he leads a broad portfolio including palliative and end of life care (PEoLC) and the Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) programme. His work focuses on driving transformation through clinical leadership, digital innovation, and system collaboration. He graduated in Nursing from San Raffaele University in Milan and began his career working clinically in acute surgical and emergency care settings, both in Italy and later in NHS hospitals across the South East and South West of England. Following his clinical practice, Stefano progressed into senior management roles within NHS provider organisations, focusing on quality improvement, patient safety, digital transformation, and clinical leadership. He later led workforce programmes across the South East region as part of the Government’s 50,000 nurses initiative, promoting strategic collaboration and the sharing of best practice across systems. He holds a Master’s in International Healthcare Management, with a focus on strategy, leadership, and quality improvement within global healthcare systems. Stefano is passionate about the intelligent use of data and technology to raise standards, promote equity, and improve patient experience. His work is grounded in ethical leadership and the delivery of public value.

Karen qualified in 1996 as Registered Learning Disability Nurse. In 1998 she joined Lifeways, a large social care provider where she has remained for the last 27 years. Her diverse role sees her provide Health and Clinical support and guidance to her Lifeways colleagues who in turn support over 4,000 people. Whilst she supports people with their existing health conditions, a large part is also around preventative care and health and wellbeing - both physical and mental. Karen is a keen advocate of seeing the person as an individual rather than a label and supporting them to achieve their full potential. Karen was proud to become a Queens Nurse in 2017. She also received the Queens Nursing Institutes (QNI) long service award in 2020 and the Chief Nurse for Adult Social care Gold Award in 2024. Karen is also the co-chair of the Northeast and Yorkshire Social Care Nursing Advisory Council (SCANCs)

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Waterall has had a varied career, working across local, regional, national and global positions within the health and care sector. He has led several high-profile areas such as the NHS Health Check, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Healthy Child Programme. He currently serves as England’s Deputy Chief Public Health Nurse in the Department of Health and Social Care’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. He has published on a wide range of subjects and continues to hold several honorary appointments, such as his Honorary Professorial positions at the University of Nottingham and the University of Hull. Jamie strongly believes that the 2020’s need to be a decade of global transformation, which sees health and care systems placing a stronger focus on preventing illness, promoting health and wellbeing and protecting the public’s health.