The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) is proud to partner with The DAISY Foundation to celebrate and recognise the extraordinary impact of nursing and midwifery leadership across the UK.
We’re delighted to offer our FNF Academy members the opportunity to nominate one of their team for a DAISY Award® for extraordinary nurse and midwife leaders.
This partnership brings together FNF’s commitment to developing compassionate, courageous leaders with the DAISY Foundation’s global mission to honour the skill, compassion, and humanity of nurses and midwives. Together, we shine a light on those who inspire others and drive improvement in care through leadership grounded in learning and reflection.
“I am truly grateful and honoured to receive this award. To be recognised alongside such dedicated, extraordinary and compassionate nursing professionals is deeply humbling. My 40 plus years in nursing has been an incredible adventure. It’s more than a career – it's my vocation and who I am as a person. But someone has to believe you can take that journey, and stand beside you. I am fortunate to work alongside some incredible people who share my passion for delivering outstanding, patient centred care. This award is as much theirs as it is mine."
Jo Mahoney, National Lead for Pre-operative Assessment Service, Circle Health Group, FNF DAISY Award 2025 honouree
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)
The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was hospitalised inspired the creation of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an evidenced-based means of providing nurse recognition and thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
"Receiving this award still hasn’t sunk in. To be honoured in this way means so much to me and ultimately it means recognition for what I strive to do every day as a nurse I love doing what I do, it’s my purpose. It’s a moment of reflection for me – and a spark – a reminder that there is still so much to do, and I’m ready!”
Siziwe Turner, Quality Matron, Isle of Wight NHS Trust, FNF DAISY Award 2025 honouree
‘Learning under the spotlight’
The theme for The DAISY Award 2026 is ‘Learning under the spotlight’. It will honour a nurse or midwife who has implemented meaningful change or improvement based on reflective learning, feedback, or review findings. It recognises that true leadership grows not from getting everything right, but from the courage to learn, adapt, and lead improvement in the face of challenge. These leaders demonstrate openness, humility, and a commitment to continuous learning that strengthens teams and improves care.
Award criteria
Nominations must be made by our Chief Nurse Academy Member or someone they have delegated to nominate on their behalf.
Your nominee should be someone who:
- Has implemented a change or improvement as a result of learning, reflection, or review findings.
- Shows courage and authenticity in responding to feedback or challenge.
- Demonstrates leadership behaviours that inspire others to learn and improve.
- Creates a culture of openness, reflection, and shared learning within their team or organisation.
- Can evidence measurable or observable impact on care quality, experience, or outcomes.
The closing date for nominations is midday Monday 15 December 2025.
The two honourees will be chosen according to a scoring system based on the criteria outlined above.
FNF will be in touch to inform the honouree nominators by 24 December, and awards will be presented at the 2026 Member Symposium on 18 March in London.
