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District Nurse Specialist
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
Rugby
On-site
GBP 40,000 - 50,000
Full time
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Job summary
A leading healthcare provider in Rugby is seeking Specialist District Nurses to lead community nursing initiatives. You will manage complex health cases, supervise nursing teams, and collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment. Ideal candidates will have a strong community nursing background and relevant qualifications. This position offers an environment for professional growth and high-quality patient care.
Benefits
Qualifications
- Registered Nurse with substantial community experience managing complex health needs.
- Completion of DNSPQ qualification and independent prescriber qualification required.
- Experience in managing a caseload and leading a nursing team.
Responsibilities
- Assess and manage complex health needs within locality.
- Develop and evaluate care programmes collaboratively.
- Provide clinical leadership and supervise nursing team.
Skills
Education
Go back South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
The closing date is 19 November 2025
Are you an experienced District Nurse ready to lead, inspire, and shape the future of community nursing? South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting four Specialist District Nurses to join our Out of Hospital Care Collaborative (OOHCC). These exciting roles offer the opportunity to lead care in four distinct and rewarding localities.
As a Specialist District Nurse, you will be responsible for the assessment and management of complex health needs within your locality. You will lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of care programmes, working autonomously and collaboratively within a Place-Based Team. Your advanced clinical assessment and prescribing skills will be central to delivering high-quality, person-centred care. You will work in collaborative leadership with the Professional Lead, who oversees the operational running of the team, ensuring alignment with service goals and standards.
Rugby is a historic market town in eastern Warwickshire, famed as the birthplace of rugby football and home to the prestigious Rugby School. One of the fastest growing towns in the country and surrounded by villages like Dunchurch, Bilton, and Hillmorton which offer picturesque countryside with strong community ties. This new role will provide the opportunity to help lead and develop a large established nursing team whilst working with colleagues to build personalised, effective care.
The post holder is required to be a Registered Nurse with substantial community experience of managing patients with complex needs and holding advanced clinical assessment skills.
The post requires the completion of the DNSPQ qualification and be an independent prescriber.
The Specialist District Nurse is responsible for the assessment and management of the complex health needs of an identified population and for the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care.
The post holder will be a registered nurse and hold the DNSPQ qualification. They will be providing clinical leadership for all patients within the community nursing caseload through proactive management.
They will focus on ways to achieve and demonstrate overall improvements in health care. They will work collaboratively with all members of the multidisciplinary team to establish a whole systems approach to the management of patients accessing healthcare in the area.
The Specialist District Nurse will support their peers and be an effective team member.
Whilst working on their own initiative, they will be responsible for ensuring that all members of the nursing team are providing the highest standard of evidenced based clinical care.
They will clinically supervise and be responsible for the development and competencies of all staff within their team. To include performance development reviews, clinical supervision and recruitment and selection.
Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.
We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.
Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.
Clinical Practice
The post holder will be aligned to a Place Based Team and be clinically responsible for the diagnosing, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care, ensuring provision of high standards of care to patients and their families within the community. They will work as part of an Integrated Team, working within and across professional and organisational boundaries.
The post holder will be a practitioner who can demonstrate a broad range of competencies and is able to adapt to a wide variety of clinical circumstances. They will be part of a community team where their proven ability to make high level clinical decisions will aid patient outcomes
Providing highly developed clinical leadership for all patients on the Community Nursing caseload through advanced level autonomous practice including taking managed risks, for example where the patient is kept at home, rather than hospital or hospice admittance as would previously been the practice
Provide highly specialist clinical leadership for patients on the caseload and work collaboratively with all professionals, carers and relatives to gain a deep understanding of all aspects of the patients physical, emotional and social situation. This includes physical examination and detailed history taking, diagnosis, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care
Provide highly specialist clinical leadership for the development and maintenance of personalised care plans for patients on the community nursing caseload, based on the full assessment of medical, nursing and care needs. This includes preventative measures and anticipation of future needs.
Order investigations and tests and interpret and act on results, using clinical guidelines and policies to support clinical decision-making.
Maintain competence in prescribing according to level of prescribing qualification i.e. Independent Prescriber and participate in regular continuing professional development in relation to the role
Prescribe medication in accordance with the local Non-medical Prescribing Policy, and local and national prescribing guidance. It is expected that all prescribers will prescribe within the limits of their individual competence
Liaise with other agencies, including the voluntary sector, to mobilise resources to meet patient needs and to support them at home securing additional support as required
Act as a resource for the PBT and community teams, providing teaching and education to them as required
To promote new research, innovation and evidence to support quality improvements and evidence based practice within the team
Clinically lead by example showing a high level of motivation and a positive attitude
Carry out regular reviews of the caseload with the Caseload Holder to maintain oversite and identify patients who are not progressing towards expected health outcomes
Support teams, individual clinicians and patients with recommendations regarding individualised treatment plans
Provide care interventions and higher level assessments for patients with highly complex conditions to ensure that patients achieve their optimum level of wellness
Responsible for the safe use of clinical equipment for the team and individual practice
Autonomous Clinical Practice
The post holder will undertake highly specialised treatment which includes but not limited to leg ulcer treatment, end of life care, wound care, continence management, management of plural drains and manoeuvring patients.
To take a comprehensive history, perform a systematic physical examination and establish baseline data to inform the development of a comprehensive care plan
Utilise highly specialist assessment, planning, treatment and evaluation skills appropriate to routine pathway
Analyse signs and symptoms, laboratory tests, investigations and other measures of function in formulating a diagnosis
Use highly complex analytical and problem-solving skills in unpredictable situations especially when developing care plans for complex and sensitive cases.
Provide evidence-based treatment plans based on sound clinical decision making, including the unique presentation of illness and response to treatment of patients on the community nursing caseload
Collaborate with the multi-disciplinary team to plan and implement treatment for acute illness/injury/chronic illness as required, using skills in nurse prescribing and medicines management
Negotiate, collaborate and support individuals and families to make sometimes difficult decisions about plans of care by empowering them to decide on the most appropriate course of action
Ensure a robust process is in place to review care and treatment plans
Take a leading role in regularly auditing and monitoring all components of care delivery
Review and develop clinical competency as required to support clinical practice, participating in ongoing personal development of self and of others
Ensure all clinical records are kept in line with SWUF and NMC guidelines
Communication
Effectively communicate and manage the delivery and reception of complex, sensitive, or potentially contentious information, utilising advanced skills in persuasion, motivation, mediation, and assurance to support team members and provide excellent care. These are particularly necessary for safeguarding concerns, challenging behaviours against team members, capacity assessments and broader social concerns.
Establish the dynamic process of understanding, reflecting, active listening and checking understanding, thus developing a therapeutic relationship with patients and their carers
Enable and support patients as active partners in the care planning process for present and future needs
Dissemination of information throughout the multidisciplinary team, taking into account the patients right of confidentiality
Education
Utilise communication skills and knowledge to promote patients and families abilities to make informed decisions and participate in care planning
Participate in the development of the teams knowledge for Routine Care Pathways
Work alongside team managers to support staff in clinical examinations and assessments unfamiliar to them
Continue to develop own expert practice
Critically evaluate research and educate the team to ensure that this theory is integrated into practice
Role model and support staff to ensure that they are clinically competent to undertake new complex skills which are maintained to ensure that patients receive the highest possible standards of care in the most appropriate environment as close to home as possible, preferably in their own home if that is their express wish
Delivering educational sessions regarding benefits of supervision, quality improvement and Learning from Experience sessions
Leadership
Contribute to the development of clinical policies, procedures and guidelines ensuring they are implemented and monitored
Participate in the clinical appraisal process, providing feedback on performance
Participate and lead on the embedding of regular clinical and safeguarding supervision for all appropriate staff
Contribute to the recruitment and selection process
Act with colleagues to identify clinical development needs within the service
Act as an advocate at all times for both patients and the service
Be a role model for other clinical members of the team, taking an active role in ensuring staff are safe in clinical practice, work with team managers to risk assess areas of practice, reporting to senior staff with education/training plans to aid the mitigation of risk as required
Embed activities within the community team to achieve organisational quality priorities
Responsible for the delivery of high-quality clinical supervision across the whole team for all team members including students.
Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.
We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.
Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn\'t matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.
Clinical Practice
The post holder will be aligned to a Place Based Team and be clinically responsible for the diagnosing, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care, ensuring provision of high standards of care to patients and their families within the community. They will work as part of an Integrated Team, working within and across professional and organisational boundaries.
The post holder will be a practitioner who can demonstrate a broad range of competencies and is able to adapt to a wide variety of clinical circumstances. They will be part of a community team where their proven ability to make high level clinical decisions will aid patient outcomes
Providing highly developed clinical leadership for all patients on the Community Nursing caseload through advanced level autonomous practice including taking managed risks, for example where the patient is kept at home, rather than hospital or hospice admittance as would previously been the practice
Provide highly specialist clinical leadership for patients on the caseload and work collaboratively with all professionals, carers and relatives to gain a deep understanding of all aspects of the patients physical, emotional and social situation. This includes physical examination and detailed history taking, diagnosis, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care
Provide highly specialist clinical leadership for the development and maintenance of personalised care plans for patients on the community nursing caseload, based on the full assessment of medical, nursing and care needs. This includes preventative measures and anticipation of future needs.
Order investigations and tests and interpret and act on results, using clinical guidelines and policies to support clinical decision-making.
Maintain competence in prescribing according to level of prescribing qualification i.e. Independent Prescriber and participate in regular continuing professional development in relation to the role
Prescribe medication in accordance with the local Non-medical Prescribing Policy, and local and national prescribing guidance. It is expected that all prescribers will prescribe within the limits of their individual competence
Liaise with other agencies, including the voluntary sector, to mobilise resources to meet patient needs and to support them at home securing additional support as required
Act as a resource for the PBT and community teams, providing teaching and education to them as required
To promote new research, innovation and evidence to support quality improvements and evidence based practice within the team
Clinically lead by example showing a high level of motivation and a positive attitude
Carry out regular reviews of the caseload with the Caseload Holder to maintain oversite and identify patients who are not progressing towards expected health outcomes
Support teams, individual clinicians and patients with recommendations regarding individualised treatment plans
Provide care interventions and higher level assessments for patients with highly complex conditions to ensure that patients achieve their optimum level of wellness
Responsible for the safe use of clinical equipment for the team and individual practice
Autonomous Clinical Practice
The post holder will undertake highly specialised treatment which includes but not limited to leg ulcer treatment, end of life care, wound care, continence management, management of plural drains and manoeuvring patients.
To take a comprehensive history, perform a systematic physical examination and establish baseline data to inform the development of a comprehensive care plan
Utilise highly specialist assessment, planning, treatment and evaluation skills appropriate to routine pathway
Analyse signs and symptoms, laboratory tests, investigations and other measures of function in formulating a diagnosis
Use highly complex analytical and problem-solving skills in unpredictable situations especially when developing care plans for complex and sensitive cases.
Provide evidence-based treatment plans based on sound clinical decision making, including the unique presentation of illness and response to treatment of patients on the community nursing caseload
Collaborate with the multi-disciplinary team to plan and implement treatment for acute illness/injury/chronic illness as required, using skills in nurse prescribing and medicines management
Negotiate, collaborate and support individuals and families to make sometimes difficult decisions about plans of care by empowering them to decide on the most appropriate course of action
Ensure a robust process is in place to review care and treatment plans
Take a leading role in regularly auditing and monitoring all components of care delivery
Review and develop clinical competency as required to support clinical practice, participating in ongoing personal development of self and of others
Ensure all clinical records are kept in line with SWUF and NMC guidelines
Communication
Effectively communicate and manage the delivery and reception of complex, sensitive, or potentially contentious information, utilising advanced skills in persuasion, motivation, mediation, and assurance to support team members and provide excellent care. These are particularly necessary for safeguarding concerns, challenging behaviours against team members, capacity assessments and broader social concerns.
Establish the dynamic process of understanding, reflecting, active listening and checking understanding, thus developing a therapeutic relationship with patients and their carers
Enable and support patients as active partners in the care planning process for present and future needs
Dissemination of information throughout the multidisciplinary team, taking into account the patients right of confidentiality
Education
Utilise communication skills and knowledge to promote patients and families abilities to make informed decisions and participate in care planning
Participate in the development of the teams knowledge for Routine Care Pathways
Work alongside team managers to support staff in clinical examinations and assessments unfamiliar to them
Continue to develop own expert practice
Critically evaluate research and educate the team to ensure that this theory is integrated into practice
Role model and support staff to ensure that they are clinically competent to undertake new complex skills which are maintained to ensure that patients receive the highest possible standards of care in the most appropriate environment as close to home as possible, preferably in their own home if that is their express wish
Delivering educational sessions regarding benefits of supervision, quality improvement and Learning from Experience sessions
Leadership
Contribute to the development of clinical policies, procedures and guidelines ensuring they are implemented and monitored
Participate in the clinical appraisal process, providing feedback on performance
Participate and lead on the embedding of regular clinical and safeguarding supervision for all appropriate staff
Contribute to the recruitment and selection process
Act with colleagues to identify clinical development needs within the service
Act as an advocate at all times for both patients and the service
Be a role model for other clinical members of the team, taking an active role in ensuring staff are safe in clinical practice, work with team managers to risk assess areas of practice, reporting to senior staff with education/training plans to aid the mitigation of risk as required
Embed activities within the community team to achieve organisational quality priorities
Responsible for the delivery of high-quality clinical supervision across the whole team for all team members including students.
- NMC Registered Nurse
- First level degree in related subject
- PGDip District Nursing
- Evidence of successful completion of relevant clinical courses e.g. advanced assessment skills, independent nonmedical prescribing (V300)
- Leadership Course - e.g. Mary Seacole Programme, LEO Programme
- Evidence of continued professional development
- Significant post registration experience as a senior nurse at band 6 or above in a community nursing team
- Proven leadership skills
- Experience of undertaking comprehensive health needs assessment and developing complex care plans independently
- Experience of research, audit and evidence-based care
- Proven experience of delivering change management
- Proven experience of student supervision and teaching
- Experience of managing a budget
- Ability to clinically lead and influence others
- Proven experience of managing a caseload and supporting junior team members
- Highly developed clinical expertise and knowledge in all aspects of community nursing care
- Able to use skills of history taking and physical assessment to direct patient care
- Highly specialist assessment, planning, treatment and evaluation skills appropriate to clinical area
- Proven listening and counselling skills with the ability to manage complex situations and appropriately deliver sensitive and difficult outcomes
- Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to write reports and maintain accurate records
- Able to conduct and evaluate own projects successfully
- Demonstrate an understanding of the National agenda for speciality
- Knowledge of quality standards and relevant NICE guidelines, NSF CQUINs etc
- Knowledge of current clinical and nursing research
- Proficient across a wide range of clinical and IT systems
- Proven ability to work on own and in partnership with other care providers
- Able to adapt behaviour to changing circumstances
- Self-Motivated and Self Disciplined
- Ability to deal with emotionally challenging clinical situations
- Able to motivate self and others
- Commitment to client centred, non-discriminatory practice
- Proven sensitivity to the needs of patient, relatives\' carers and other care providers
- Must be a car driver and able to drive in varied weather conditions
- Able to attend network wide meetings
- willing to undertake Criminal records Bureau Disclosure to Enhanced / Standard level
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
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