RCN London Rising Stars Winners 2023

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RCN London is delighted to introduce the Rising Star winners for our 2023 Awards.

The awards recognise nurses and health care support workers from London’s Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic nursing community who have made an outstanding contribution to the capital’s health and care system.

The year’s winners were recognised for being nursing pioneers and innovators, for being inspirational leaders and for promoting excellence in patient care.

Click on the boxes below to find out more about each winner.

Leo Andrew Almerol – Vascular Access Clinical Nurse Specialist

Leo works at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Leo trained in the Philippines and has been nursing for 12 years, eight in the UK of which four years as a vascular access specialist. His favourite part of nursing is hearing the difference he has made to his patients. He is proud that the work he is doing inspires others to consider nursing as a profession.

His nominator says that Leo shows unwavering commitment to delivering safe and compassionate services and he has positively impacted countless patients. Colleagues admire Leo's collaborative spirit, his willingness to share knowledge and best practices, and his unwavering dedication to continuous learning and professional growth.

Thu Aung – Practice Educator

Thu works at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Thu has been nursing for 18 years. Started a textiles degree and did part-time care work, but Thu changed course because of her passion for nursing. Her favourite part of her role is supporting internationally educated nurses (IENs).

Her nominator says Thu has been very professional and passionate about supporting staff at the Trust, especially internationally educated nurses. Thu also supports preceptees, her passion for education and student success is very clear and this enthusiasm inspires her students and gives them confidence to face any challenges.

Blessing Bello – Staff Nurse

Blessing works at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.

After working as a nursing support worker, Blessing graduated as a nurse two years ago, during the pandemic. Blessing is committed to creating a positive work environment for colleagues. She is passionate about women’s health and is now studying to be a midwife.

Her nominator says Blessing has played a pivotal role in improving staff wellbeing, focusing on both physical and mental health. Her innovative idea of incorporating well-being cards into Registered Nurses and Midwifery revalidation files gained widespread support. The Trust has taken on this project, recognising the value it brings in nurturing and supporting our healthcare professionals.

Noreen Chindawi – Anal Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist

Noreen works at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Noreen worked as a nurse for 10 years in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK over 20 years ago. Noreen became a nurse practitioner over a decade ago and works in a very specialist area of cancer care. She is also a qualified high-resolution anoscopist.

Her nominator says Noreen has reached out to many people affected by anal cancer to offer support. At the same time, she runs her own post-cancer clinics, trains nurses from around the country to support the development of new local services while also training anoscopists.

Donatella Doku – Sister in Private Outpatients

Donatella works at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Donatella trained in Italy and came to the UK in 2018. Her experience of caring for patients with cancer encouraged her to work in cancer care. Her favourite part of her role is being there through the patient journey, not only for patients but also their families.

Donatella was nominated for her exemplary leadership, management style and relationships with both her staff and patients on her unit. She empowers and inspires her colleagues and directly improves patient care, as well as spreading good practice to colleagues beyond her Trust.

Farida Edzla – Clinical Nurse Specialist - Interventional Cardiology

Farida works at London Bridge Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare UK.

Farida has been nursing since 1991. After graduating in the Philippines, she worked in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait before coming to the UK in 2000. One of her proudest moments in life came when patients nominated her as an "Extraordinary nurse" at the height of the pandemic.

Her nominator says Farida uses her enthusiasm, motivation and innovation skills to improve clinical pathways, the patient experience, as well as increasing job satisfaction for her nursing colleagues. During the pandemic, Farida developed a clinical pathway enabling London Bridge Hospital to work in partnership with the NHS.

Margret Emakpose – Ward Sister

Margret works at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Margret always knew she would go into nursing after seeing first-hand the amazing care nurses gave her grandmother. She worked in haematology and loved it. She enjoys leading a team and supporting patients to get the best care they can.

Her nominator says Margret is a truly inspirational leader. Committed to driving improvements in the services she runs, Margret leads from the front and offers support and guidance to her team, always showing compassion to provide a seamless patient service throughout their cancer journey.

Dorothy Ilano – Critical Care Nurse/Lead Nurse for Recruitment and Retention

Dorothy works at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Dorothy has been nursing for approximately 25 years. Born and raised in the Philippines, Dorothy came to the UK in 2000. Her favourite part of her job is having new starters coming on board and making them feel welcome. And then, even after they have been at the Trust a few months, they still stay in touch with her and see her as a point of support.

Her nominator says that she has made an extraordinary difference to nurses and healthcare assistants at the Trust who come to work in critical care. She goes above and beyond to ensure that internationally educated nurses feel welcome.

Gwen Makosana – Trainee Colposcopy Nurse Specialist

Gwen works at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.

Gwen qualified as a nurse in 2018. She was inspired to go into nursing by watching her mum who was a nurse for over 50 years. Gwen has a passion for women’s health and is most proud of the work she is doing to improve the services provided to women. Last year, Gwen became a trainee nurse colposcopist.

Her nominator says Gwen’s quiet, gentle, caring but confident manner helped ensure that the ward culture towards patients and staff was always very positive. She is really supportive of her colleagues, and her dedication to her patients and the service is second to none.

Olubukola Ojomo – Nursing Associate

Olubukola works at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust.

Olubukola first worked with vulnerable people in 2005, in mental health from 2006, and qualified as a Nursing Associate in 2020. A favourite part of her role is delivering patient-centred care, so patients feel understood, and then supporting them to return home.

Her nominator says Olubukola is an outstanding nursing associate making huge contributions to the care of her patients. She has vast experience of working closely with vulnerable people with mental health issues and those who misuse illicit substances. Olubukola advocates strongly for her patients to have a real say in their care.

Rashidat Okunlola-Samuel – Clinical Lead/Acting Ward Manager

Rashidat works at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

Before becoming a nurse, Rashidat worked in banking and volunteered as a befriender for Age UK. It was here that her passion for nursing grew. After re-training as a nurse, she is doing what she loves and gets real job satisfaction looking after older people.

Her nominator says Rashidat’s enthusiasm inspires others. She champions promoting physical health care and mental health care and has been instrumental in the development of an observation and alert system.

Shalini Ramguttee – Nursing Associate Development Lead

Shalini works at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

Shalini’s nursing journey began in 2004 as a nursing assistant in Mauritius. She came over to the UK in 2006 and today is a nursing associate. She was inspired to go into nursing by her parents who are both nurses and each have over 40 years of nursing experience.

Her nominators say that Shalini re-developed her Trust’s in-house Care Certificate training programme, which has improved patient care and staff development and retention. She runs regular pastoral support sessions and drop-in clinics for nursing support workers and holds 1:1 career development/coaching sessions for nursing support workers across the Trust.

Marlon Simbajon – Practice Education Facilitator - International Nurses

Marlon works at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Marlon has been nursing for almost 15 years. He came to the UK from the Philippines in 2012 and has been in London since 2014. He most enjoys giving back to international nurses and seeing how they progress in their careers.

His nominator says he is an advocate, a counsellor, a mentor and role model. He is a champion of international nurses. Marlon’s talent for empowering nurses of the future really shines through.

Arvin Vinas – A&E Senior Charge Nurse

Arvin works at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.

Originally from the Philippines, Arvin has been a nurse for 13 years. His favourite thing about nursing is to support his patients and his colleagues. Arvin implemented and led his own quality improvement initiative to prevent and reduce falls in A&E.

His nominator says Arvin has championed patient safety and health and wellbeing in the challenging environment of A&E. Diversity and inclusion is important for him and he created wellbeing initiatives which highlighted staff recognition regardless of race and role in the department. This sparked a sense of belongingness and inclusion amongst the A&E team.

Page last updated - 02/10/2023

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