Filipino senior nurse Susie Lagrata, an advanced headache nurse practitioner at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust, has been awarded 2026 “Nurse of the Year” at the Nursing Times Awards.
The award recognises Lagrata’s outstanding leadership and clinical innovation through her pioneering nurse-led headache services she started in the UK. Judges hailed her as an “exceptional leader” with an “unwavering commitment to improving care,” noting that she perfectly demonstrates how nurses can drive transformational change.
When we empower nurses, the true winners are our patients.
– Susie Lagrata
Dedicating the win to her team and family, Lagrata offered special thanks to UCLH Headache Services academic and clincal lead Professor Manjit Matharu for giving her the “freedom to innovate and lead.”
The latest award builds on a highly successful career for the Filipino nurse. In 2022, Ms Lagrata won the Royal College of Nursing Award for starting the first nurse-led headache services in Britain.
In 2025, she was co-project lead and co-author of the first RCN Headache Nurses Competency and Education Framework in the UK which supports the standardisation of headache nursing practice nationally.
A proud representative of the overseas healthcare workforce, Lagrata completed her bachelor’s degree in adult nursing at Wesleyan University, Philippines, in 1996 before moving to the UK in 1999. Beyond her clinical excellence, she has been a vital advocate for her community as a founding officer and former press relations officer for the Filipino Nurses Association UK (FNA UK). The organisation proudly celebrated her historic win online, calling the recognition “so richly deserved.”
Photos: Susie Lagrata/Facebook
