Filipino nurse Susie Lagrata named 2026 Nurse of the Year at the Nursing Times Awards
Susie Lagrata, an advanced headache nurse practitioner and lead nurse at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was named Nurse of the Year at the Nursing Times Awards 2026, with judges praising her pioneering nurse-led services and support for internationally educated nurses.
Susie Lagrata, an advanced headache nurse practitioner and lead nurse at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust, was named Nurse of the Year at the Nursing Times Awards 2026. Tinig UK, which reported the win on 2 November, described her as a Filipino senior nurse.
Nursing Times said the ceremony was held in London and that 26 award winners were celebrated at this year's awards.
What the judges said
Judges described Lagrata as an inspirational nursing leader who has transformed her specialist area locally, nationally and internationally through pioneering nurse-led services, workforce development and clinical innovation, Nursing Times reported. The awards' winners page singled out her mentoring of colleagues and her support for internationally educated nurses, calling her "an exceptional leader, with lasting impact and unwavering commitment to improving care."
Pioneering nurse-led headache services
According to Tinig UK, Lagrata won the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Award in 2022 for the nurse-led headache services she started in the UK. Her RCNi Nursing Live biography says she was co-project lead and co-author of the first RCN Headache Nurses Competency and Education Framework in the UK, published in December 2025, and that she holds a Master of Headache Disorders from the University of Copenhagen.
From the Philippines to UCLH
Lagrata completed her bachelor's degree in adult nursing at Wesleyan University, Philippines, in 1996 before moving to the UK in 1999, according to both Tinig UK and her Nursing Live biography. Tinig UK reported that the Filipino Nurses Association UK (FNA UK) celebrated her win online, calling the recognition "so richly deserved."
Tinig UK said she dedicated the win to her team and family, and thanked Professor Manjit Matharu of UCLH Headache Services for giving her the "freedom to innovate and lead." Tinig UK carried this line from her:
When we empower nurses, the true winners are our patients.
Filipinos in Care's Project CHARM was also listed as a finalist in both the Nursing in Social Care and Team of the Year categories, according to the Nursing Times Awards winners page.
Read the web like we doTurn any page into clean, ready-to-use data with FirecrawlKey facts
- Susie Lagrata of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was named Nurse of the Year at the Nursing Times Awards 2026.
- Judges described her as an inspirational nursing leader who transformed her specialist area through pioneering nurse-led services, workforce development and clinical innovation.
- She won the RCN Award in 2022 for the nurse-led headache services she started in the UK, according to Tinig UK.
- She completed her nursing degree at Wesleyan University, Philippines, in 1996 and moved to the UK in 1999.
- Filipinos in Care's Project CHARM was a finalist in the Nursing in Social Care and Team of the Year categories.
Official sources
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