Daniel Daka is Nurse of the Year

Daniel Daka, Nurse of the Year 2013
Download Daniel Daka, Nurse of the Year 2013
Daniel Daka, Nurse of the Year 2013

Daniel Daka was named Oxleas Nurse of the Year 2013 at our annual Nursing Conference in front of over 200 colleagues from across our services today.

Daniel, who is Acting Unit Manager at Ivy Willis CRU, was recognised for the excellent job he has done acting up into this role over the last year and the service improvements he has championed on the unit. Ivy Willis CRU is a closed rehabilitation unit for people with severe and enduring complex mental health needs in Bromley.

Daniel oversaw the introduction of the Productive ward series, a set of tools to help services in the NHS improve efficiency and streamline the way they work, and has encouraged and motivated staff to implement their ideas. This has included introducing a support group for healthcare assistants across the unit to share best practice and support each other in their work and trialling a ‘search wand’ to help eliminate people from bringing alcohol and drugs and other prohibited substances into the unit.

Daniel , who received a prize of £500, said: "I've been working at Ivy Willis for the last 10 years. For me the path to progression has always been about driving quality and the patient experience. It was really a team effort. The most important thing for us is what we are doing for our patients."

In addition to the Nurse of the Year award, awards were also presented for nursing excellence, safety, patient experience and an award for student nurse mentors sponsored by the University of Greenwich. The awards recognise and reward individual nurses who have made significant contributions to nursing practice over the past year. The following category winners received £250 and runners up received £100.

Nursing Excellence

Winner:  Maz Marsham, Clinical Lead for Health Access and Queens Nurse, Adult Learning Disability Services

Runner up: Debra Owen, Staff Nurse, Older People’s Mental Health Services

Safety

Winner: Nina Turner, Senior Nurse, Forensic and Prison Services

Runner up: TB Team, Adult Community Services

Patient Experience

Winner: Atherly Gilgeous, Bromley Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team, Adult Mental Health Services

Runner up: Sally Wilson, STAR Worker, Forensic and Prison Services

Student Nurse Mentor

Winner: Stacey Blackford, Charge Nurse, Older People's Mental Health Services

Runner up: Nicole Gombera, Clinical Charge Nurse, Adult Mental Health Services 

Staff who attended today’s nursing conference at Charlton Athletic Football Club, heard from guest speakers:

  • Dr Peter Carter OBE, Chief Executive and General Secretary RCN
  • Sam Sherrington, Head of Nursing and Midwifery at NHS England
  • Caroline Alexander, Director of Nursing for NHS England, London Region
  • Linda Burke, Pro Vice Chancellor for Faculty of Education and Health at the University of Greenwich
  • Dr Ben Thomas, Professional Officer for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities from the Department of Health
  • Inspirational trainer, coach and author, Steve Head. 

Published on 14th June 2013