Lead Nurse Rheumatology | Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization is seeking a Lead Rheumatology Specialist Nurse to lead the service and enhance patient care. You will be responsible for strategic direction, nurse-led clinics, and developing educational initiatives within the department. Strong experience in rheumatology nursing and audit is essential. This role offers an opportunity to contribute to a world-class service and promote quality care.

Qualifications

• Lead role in rheumatology nursing with experience in nurse-led clinics and audit.
• Ability to provide strategic direction and develop policies and patient education material.
• Experience in clinical research engagement and inter-professional education.

Responsibilities

• Act as a visible role model and expert autonomous practitioner.
• Provide strategic direction for the Clinical Nurses Specialist team.
• Lead training and education for nurses and allied health care professionals.

Skills

Rheumatology nursing experience

Clinical leadership

Inter-professional education

Audit experience

Patient education

Education

Relevant nursing qualification

Job description

Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Lead Rheumatology Specialist Nurse at North Middlesex health unit. We are seeking an experienced practitioner who is forward thinking, dynamic and proactive to lead the service. The Rheumatology Department at North Middlesex consists of 4 Consultant Rheumatologists; 3 full time Clinical Nurse Specialists. Rheumatology activities are mainly based in the outpatient setting with a significant monitoring workload, especially for patients on Biologic treatments. The department promotes an active audit and teaching ethos to deliver the best care and patient experience. The Lead Nurse for Rheumatology will drive continuity of care provision and help deliver the service strategy with consultant support.

The post holder will be expected to undertake regular nurse-led clinics in addition to ad hoc clinics and participate in national and local audits. There is a dedicated patient advice line for patients taking DMARDS and Biologics for which the lead nurse will have overall accountability.

Responsibilities

• Act as a visible role model and expert autonomous practitioner.
• Provide strategic direction for the Clinical Nurses Specialist team.
• Lead the development and implementation of nursing-led care programmes for individual patients and the client group as a whole.
• Lead training and education for nurses and allied health care professionals within the specialist area, internally and externally.
• Contribute to the development of the department's clinical research strategy and engage at all levels of the research process.
• Ensure excellent standards of nursing care to patients through planning, coordinating, delivering and evaluating nurse-led services.
• Lead the review and evaluation of patient information and education sessions in collaboration with the MDT.
• Work with the clinical team to create and enable a positive patient experience and promote staff wellbeing.

Further Information

The Rheumatology service provides diagnostic, wide-ranging treatments and management advice for a caseload of patients with various rheumatological conditions. The post holder will be involved in ward nursing support for rheumatology in-patients and liaise with the Emergency Department and community colleagues to promote avoidance of admissions. They will also deliver educational requirements with support from other CNS in the Rheumatology department. See the job description and person specification for further details.

At the Royal Free London, our mission is to be world class in care, clinical research and teaching excellence, with a focus on kind and compassionate care. We have over 10,000 staff across our sites. North Mid is part of the North Central London integrated care system (ICS). We work with partners across the system and share decisions and approaches where appropriate.

We are a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George’s University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.

Take a tour of our hospital here.

Qualification/Experience

• Lead role in rheumatology nursing with experience in nurse-led clinics and audit.
• Ability to provide strategic direction and develop policies and patient education material.
• Experience in clinical research engagement and inter-professional education.
• Strong liaison skills with ward staff, ED, and community teams to prevent admissions and promote patient care continuity.

Important dates

This advert closes on Sunday 28 Sep 2025.