King’s nurse receives prestigious June James Award for transforming diabetes care

22 July 2026 - Diabetes Specialist Nurse at King's recognised for transforming diabetes care.

Janise Tara Jimenez, Diabetes Specialist Nurse at King’s College Hospital, has been announced as the winner of the June James Award at the Diabetes Nursing Awards 2026.

The June James Award was established in 2025 in memory of June James, a trailblazer in diabetes nursing whose remarkable career transformed diabetes research, education and patient care across the UK. The award honours individuals or teams who go above and beyond in delivering exceptional care, driving innovation and advancing diabetes education.

Janise [pictured right, next to awards host Dr Sarah Jarvis MBE] received the award in recognition of her work to address the risk of hospital readmission and improve post-discharge support for patients by implementing an innovative virtual ward model.

As part of the model, Janise developed and embedded a standardised pathway enabling real-time glucose monitoring, supervision from a virtual diabetes specialist nurse and rapid clinical escalation when needed. Within just six months of rolling out the virtual ward model, diabetes-related hospital readmissions fell from 24% to 6%, with no serious incidents related to missed deterioration, demonstrating the value of digitally enabled, patient-centred care.

Janise also received the highly commended award for the Inpatient Diabetes Specialist Nurse of the Year category at the Diabetes Nursing Awards 2026, which recognises nurses dedicated to improving the care of patients living with diabetes.

Janise said: “I feel really privileged and honoured to have received these awards. It is inspirational to be around people who want the same thing: to help people living with diabetes. I am passionate about providing the very best care possible, and to have this recognition makes me so proud.”

Tracey Carter, Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Midwifery at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “On behalf of everyone at Team King’s, I would like to say how well-deserved this award is for Janise. As a result of her hard work, many more people with diabetes will avoid unnecessary hospital stays and can recover well in the comfort of their own home. Her dedication to putting patient care at the heart of everything we do is inspiring.”