Critical Care Registered Nurse

Transformation Unit; Chester; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a full-time Critical Care Registered Nurse (Band 5) for the ICU. You will deliver compassionate, evidence-based care to critically ill patients and collaborate with a multidisciplinary team in a 15-bed ICU setting.

Applicants should be Registered Adult Nurses with 6+ months post-registration experience, and ideally possess mentorship/assessing qualifications or equivalent post-registration study.

Qualifications

• Registered Adult Nurse with at least 6 months post-registration experience.
• Mentorship & Assessing qualification (or acquired following Preceptorship & after 12 months in post)
• Post-registration qualification or evidence of further study
• Relevant specialty qualification (may be required for certain practice areas e.g. Critical Care)

Responsibilities

• Deliver safe, compassionate, evidence-based care to critically ill patients requiring Level 2 and Level 3 critical care.
• Assess, plan, implement and evaluate patient care, recognising and responding to changes in patient condition.
• Safely manage patients requiring advanced organ support, including mechanical ventilation and invasive monitoring, in line with competency.
• Administer medications and treatments safely, maintaining accurate clinical records.
• Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care.
• Support patients and their families through effective communication, compassion and advocacy.
• Maintain professional competence through education, training and participation in quality improvement initiatives.

Skills

Acute Care experience

Critical Care knowledge

Education

Registered Adult Nurse

Mentorship & Assessing qualification

Post-registration qualification or further study

Relevant specialty qualification (Critical Care)

Job description

Employer Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Countess of Chester Hospital Town Chester Salary £32,073 - £39,043 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 15/10/2026 23:59

Critical Care Registered Nurse

Band 5

Job overview

Working Full time: 37.5 hours per week

We have an exciting opportunity for a full-time Band 5 Staff Nurse to join our Intensive Care Unit on a permanent basis.

Join our compassionate and dedicated ICU team, where you'll play a vital role in delivering high-quality intensive care to critically ill patients and making a meaningful difference to the lives of patients and their families.

Working as part of a highly skilled, supportive, and friendly multidisciplinary team, you will deliver safe, evidence-based intensive care to patients with complex and life-threatening conditions. You'll be supported to develop your critical care knowledge and skills in an environment that values learning, teamwork, and clinical excellence.

If you are passionate about delivering outstanding patient-centred intensive care and supporting patients and their families with professionalism, compassion, and kindness, we would love to welcome you to our team.

Main duties of the job

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our ICU team working at The Countess of Chester Hospital. We are currently looking for a band 5 nurse to join our 15 bedded ICU, admitting elective and emergency admissions from a variety of specialities.

Experience in Acute Care is essential.

All successful candidates will benefit from an orientation and induction programme supported by our Critical Care Educators. Staff follow an education pathway, which is competency based (using the Critical Care national competency framework).

If your application is successful please note you will be invited to an interviewand have an opportunity to meet the team and have a look around the unit.

• Deliver safe, compassionate, evidence-based care to critically ill patients requiring Level 2 and Level 3 critical care.
• Assess, plan, implement and evaluate patient care, recognising and responding to changes in patient condition.
• Safely manage patients requiring advanced organ support, including mechanical ventilation and invasive monitoring, in line with competency.
• Administer medications and treatments safely, maintaining accurate clinical records.
• Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care.
• Support patients and their families through effective communication, compassion and advocacy.
• Maintain professional competence through education, training and participation in quality improvement initiatives.

Working for our organisation

The Trust’s services are provided from three locations:

• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.

The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the ‘essential’ criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer ‘YES’ to the question: ‘Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?’

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Person specification

Qualification

• Registered Adult Nurse with at least 6 months post-registration experience
• Mentorship & Assessing qualification (or acquired following Preceptorship & after 12 months in post)
• Post-registration qualification or evidence of further study
• Relevant speciality qualification (may be required for certain practice areas e.g. Critical Care)

Experience

• Development of speciality knowledge
• Understanding of quality change in a clinical setting

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.