Lead Nurse

North Bristol NHS Trust; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization is seeking a Lead Nurse to enhance burn care outcomes across the South West region. In this strategic role, you'll lead nursing efforts in service development, education, and quality improvement, while collaborating with key stakeholders to influence national initiatives. The ideal candidate should have strong leadership skills, and expertise in burn care, and the ability to promote equitable and patient-centered services. This is a secondment position until March 2027, with potential for extension.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in a clinical setting, ideally within burn care.
• Experience in strategic planning and service transformation.
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the nursing contribution to the Network's strategic direction.
• Develop and implement a regional nursing strategy aligned with national standards.
• Advocate for excellence in burn care and professional development.

Skills

Nursing leadership

Burn care expertise

Workforce planning

Quality improvement

Education and training

Education

Registered Nurse qualification

Advanced practice certification

Job description

Are you a visionary and compassionate nursing leader with a passion for improving outcomes in burn care? This is a unique and exciting opportunity to take on a strategic leadership role within the South West Burns Clinical Network (SWBCN), one of four specialised burns networks across England and Wales.

As Lead Nurse, you will be at the forefront of transforming how burn care is delivered across the South West region and influencing national collaborations. This role offers the chance to work alongside senior leaders, clinicians, educators, and commissioners to shape services that are equitable, patient-centred, and aligned with national standards and priorities.

You will lead on the nursing contribution to the Network's strategic direction, influencing workforce planning, education, quality improvement, and service transformation. Drive forward service development, research, and education initiatives that improve patient outcomes and experiences. Champion the voice of burn nurses across the Network, advocating for excellence in care and professional development.

This role requires flexibility to attend regional and national meetings, occasional home working, and travel across the Network. You'll work independently within a supportive leadership team, contributing to a dynamic and forward-thinking network. The Lead Nurse is a key member of the SWBCN Leadership Team, representing and advocating for specialised burn nurses (adult and paediatric) across the Network. The role is a secondment position for an initial period up to 31 March 2027, with a possibility to extend at the end of this period.

The post-holder will provide strategic, professional and clinical nursing leadership across the SWBCN, ensuring high-quality, equitable and patient-centred care for adults and children. The post-holder will lead the nursing contribution of the Network's strategic direction in respect of workforce development and planning, education and training, quality improvement and service transformation in accordance with the British Burn Association (BBA) National Standards for the Provision Adult and Paediatric Burn Care and regional priorities.

As a member of the Network Leadership Team, the post-holder will develop productive working relationships and practices across the Network, working in partnership with other relevant agencies and organisations offering advice and providing support to all specialised burn services within the region.

The post-holder's main duties will involve collaborating with the Network Leadership Team and contributing specific nursing expertise in all aspects of the burn care pathway across the Network region and nationally. The post-holder will co‑ordinate a Senior Burn Nurses Specialist Interest Group (SIG), providing leadership and direction to the group in order to develop a collaborative approach to delivering improvement across the Network. The post-holder will represent the nursing group at the Network Board and in other regional and national meetings. The post-holder will work with Directors of Nursing and Lead Burn Nurses from the Network member organisations to maintain a sustainable expert nursing workforce into the future. The post-holder will contribute their expertise in the development of an integrated approach to burn care, ensuring the SWBCN nursing membership are involved in the planning and implementation of service developments and improvements in line with the Ten Year Health Plan for England: Fit for the Future, regional commissioners objectives and the BBA National Standards for the Provision of Adult and Paediatric Burn Care.

The post-holder will work closely with all designated Specialised Burn Services within the SWBCN, primarily with nursing teams but also including medical and other allied health professionals. The post-holder will also work closely with the other Burns Clinical Networks' Lead Nurses in order to deliver national nursing objectives as per the National Burns Clinical Network Group's annual work programme.

Strategic Leadership, Clinical Governance and Network Governance

• Lead the development and implementation of a regional nursing strategy aligned with BBA National Standards for the Provision of Adult and Paediatric Burn Care and NHS priorities.
• Provide expert nursing advice to the SWBCN Board and Clinical Governance meetings, and National Burns Clinical Network Group meetings and in strategic discussions with commissioners in NHS England, NHS Wales, and other stakeholders.
• Identify gaps in service provision and ensure development of appropriate mitigation.
• Ability to challenge deficiencies and escalation risks, ensuring robust clinical governance to ensure patient safety.
• Align the SWBCN with other Burns Clinical Networks in respect of nursing to promote consistency and collaboration nationally.
• Chair the Network Nursing Specialist Interest Group.
• Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for a network nursing annual work programme delivered in collaboration with the SWBCN Nursing Specialist Interest Group (SIG).
• Support delivery of appropriate and effective Network leadership and governance arrangements that will support the SWBCN in delivering its aims.
• Provide guidance within the Network Leadership Team on specialty burns education and training for nursing professionals across the Network, ensuring that the required knowledge and skills are developed and maintained.
• Provide leadership on Patient and Public Involvement in the SWBCN.
• Deputise for the Network Clinical Director, Network Manager or Network AHP Lead as required in their absence.
• Contribute to the development and publication of the Network Annual Report. Understand the national policies related to the management of surge and escalation in critical care services and emergency planning for burn mass casualty incidents (Burns Annex) and advocate for burns nurses when these are reviewed.

Workforce Planning & Development

• Provide leadership in workforce needs assessments and ensure a sustainable skilled nursing workforce across the SWBCN, as outlined within the BBA National Standards for the Provision of Adult and Paediatric Burn Care.
• Provide leadership and advice around nursing workforce and skill mix within a defined budget.
• Work with the Network Nursing SIG to support workforce planning and development.
• Collaborate with Health Education England and higher education providers to promote nursing opportunities in a burn care.
• Promote the professional and clinical development of nursing staff to enhance clinical practice and patient care.
• Promote a progressive culture of practice development and learning across the Network.
• Collaborate with universities and higher education providers to support new models of training for Burn Nurses and Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
• Deliver regular Burn Nurses Forums to provide on‑going learning and peer support around topical and relevant themes and evaluating training effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to provide training resources for community nursing teams to support the provision of high‑quality burn care closer to where patients live.
• Promote successes of evidence‑based improvement in burn care and support research initiatives across the SWBCN in collaboration with the Network's Research Collaborative Group.
• Understand the national nursing competency frameworks and support bench‑marking, audit, and service evaluation in collaboration with other Network Nursing Leads.
• Support delivery of SWBCN audit programmes.

Network Co‑ordination & Communication

• Present complex, sensitive or contentious information at Network Board and NHS England Programme Board meetings.
• Provide expert advice on specialist nursing at regional and national meetings.
• Chair the Burns Nurses Specialist Interest Group (SIG), driving delivery of the Network Annual Work Programme objectives.
• Foster peer support, shared learning, and effective communication across the Network.
• Ensure excellent communication channels are maintained with the nursing teams in terms of service related information regarding safeguarding, workforce and service delivery issues.
• Contribute to maintaining up‑to‑date digital communication platforms (e.g., SharePoint, newsletters, website, training platforms).
• Write and contribute to Network reports as requested by key stakeholders (e.g., nursing workforce bench‑marking, Network Annual Report, Network Clinical Guidelines)
• Promote cross‑network collaboration (e.g., with Major Trauma, Critical Care, Paediatric, Neonatal networks) to ensure system‑wide communications.

Service Delivery & Quality Improvement

• Drive sustainable continuous improvement throughout the SWBCN.
• Turn strategic goals into practical plans that guide teams and drive improvements across the Network.
• Utilise recommended quality improvement tools to support the planning of service and quality improvements.
• Lead key nursing ambitions and objectives in the Network's work programme demonstrating value for money with evidenced impact and delivery.
• Lead on nursing elements of service improvement projects and policy development.
• Promote a whole‑systems approach to safe, effective, and equitable care across the burn care pathways.
• Contribute to planning, developing, and evaluating methods and processes for gathering, analysing, interpreting, and presenting data and information to maintain BBA National Burn Care Standards for the Provision of Adult and Paediatric Burn Care.
• Where quality improvements are necessary, to be able to overcome barriers and resistance in order to improve outcomes for patients.
• Identify the need for service or burn care pathway development through audit and research.
• Facilitate the sharing and implementation of innovative ideas and concepts in working practice.
• Regularly evaluate the national quality indicators in respect of service specifications.
• Undertake project management, including complex audits and service evaluations.
• Support the implementation of national service specifications and quality standards.
• Co‑lead and contribute to peer and service review, supporting completion of review reports and follow‑up of agreed actions.
• Contribute to Network governance in respect of investigating incidents, complaints, mortality data and ensure outcomes are translated into learning and improvement within designated areas.
• Support targeted education sessions as a result of lessons learnt and promote enhanced quality and safety initiatives.

Patient, Family & Carer Advocacy

• Lead on patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in the SWBCN.
• Champion patient, family and carer involvement in service planning and improvement projects.
• Contribute to the development of patient information resources.
• Lead initiatives with the Nursing SIG to improve patient experience, access to burn care and outcomes; especially for hard‑to‑reach and vulnerable groups.
• Collaborate with the Network Burns Prevention and Awareness Group and third sector organisations to promote burns prevention and awareness in partnership with the Nursing SIG.

Working for our organisation

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award‑winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti‑discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.

If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.

If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel [phone].

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently under‑represented in NBT's workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre‑employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.