[Pinoy Pride] British-Filipino Frontliner Hailed as ‘Nurse of the Year’

On Thursday (May 6), a British-Filipino nurse won a national award in the United Kingdom for his “instrumental” work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ariel Lañada was named one of two recipients of the National Health Service’s National BAME Health and Care Awards as the BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) Nurse of the Year.

Pinoy Based in Oxford Wins National Award for Pandemic Work

According to NHS, the Awards were founded in 2019 by an enthusiastic group of volunteers from the health and care sectors in partnership with Colourful Healthcare CIC to champion the value of recognizing BAME creativity and innovation, the Philippine Star reported.

Lañada, who came to the UK in 2002, is the Divisional Educational Lead for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, Trauma, Specialist Surgery, Children’s and Neonates Division.

He was honored for his pandemic efforts, which included delivering 1,200 hot meals to healthcare staff at Oxford University Hospital in four weeks.

According to a BBC survey, there are approximately 3,000 Filipinos employed in Oxfordshire county, 500 of whom work at OUH. The majority of them are nurses.

The Pinoy nurse expressed gratitude for being able to assist his colleagues and fellow Filipinos in the UK during these difficult times.

I am incredibly honoured to receive this award. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be able to support my colleagues and the Filipino community,” Lañada said.

Lañada also arranged grocery delivery and online consultation for members of the Filipino community in Oxfordshire, where he serves as chairperson, who are infected with COVID-19.

In addition to his job as a nurse, he is an associate lecturer at Oxford Brooks University and a distant professor at Central Philippines University-College of Nursing.

Catch a clip of the awarding here:

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