Publish date: 29 October 2025
Isle of Wight NHS Trust's Quality Matron, Siziwe Turner has been honoured with the Florence Nightingale Foundation DAISY Award at a ceremony in London for her leadership that has transformed the standard and quality of care for patients across the island.
Siziwe was selected as this year’s Florence Nightingale Foundation DAISY Award honouree, out of hundreds of nominations.
Since joining the Trust in 2021, Siziwe has embedded the Quality Assurance Accreditation Scheme (QAAS) to empower and engage staff to improve standards and quality of care. Her commitment to excellence has seen 33 areas now holding Gold accreditation and 13 striving towards Platinum, a remarkable achievement that speaks volumes about her dedication, expertise, and ability to inspire change.
The Florence Nightingale Foundation’s DAISY Award represents one of the highest international honours for a nurse. It recognises nurses who go above and beyond in clinical excellence, compassion, and person-centred care. It’s a reflection of how patients, families, or colleagues experience a nurse’s profound impact - how they make people feel safe, valued, and cared for at moments of greatest vulnerability.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s Nurse Director, Laura Neal, who nominated Siziwe for the award said: “I am immensely proud of Siziwe. Her leadership is the perfect blend of compassion and accountability—she demonstrates that kindness and high standards can, and must, coexist in great care.
“Under her guidance, the QAAS programme has not only been embedded but has flourished, driving sustainable improvement across every service. She is deeply respected for her professionalism, her humility, and her ability to inspire others to be their best.”
Learning the news that she had selected as the winner for the DAISY Award, Siziwe shared what is meant to her: “It 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 everyday as a nurse.
“Achieving the improvements we have delivered at Isle of Wight NHS Trust has only been possible by my wonderful team, and the ambition that our teams have across the organisation to drive up standards of care for our community.”
Siziwe and her team support teams across the organisation to help reach the highest standards of care through the national Quality Assurance Accreditation Scheme is a Patient First initiative that focuses on engaging staff and empowering leaders to improve standards and quality of care.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s Chief Nurse, Hayley Peters said: “I am incredibly proud of Siziwe’s fantastic achievement. To be recognised with a globally recognised award is a true reflection of Siziwe’s leadership and dedication to improving the standards of care for patients and staff at the Trust.”
Pictured above are Siziwe Turner (left) and Nurse Director, Laura Neal (right).
