Lead Nutrition Specialist Nurse

NHS; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in England seeks a highly motivated Nutrition Nurse to join their established nutrition service at Whiston Hospital. The role involves advanced clinical practice for patients requiring artificial nutrition support and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team. Ideal candidates will have clinical expertise, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to professional development. This permanent, full-time position offers a competitive salary and opportunities for service improvement.

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse Diploma/Degree required.
• Masters level qualification relevant to specialty (or working towards).
• Evidence of continuing professional development necessary.

Responsibilities

• Lead the clinical management team supporting the Gastroenterology department.
• Manage your own caseload and collaborate with MDT members.
• Provide advanced levels of clinical practice in nutrition.

Skills

Change management ability

Advanced communication skills

IT skills

Autonomous work capability

Education

Registered Nurse Diploma/Degree

Masters level qualification relevant to specialty

Post-registration qualification in specialist areas

Job description

Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and knowledgeable Nutrition Nurse to join and lead our established nutrition service across MWL but based at the Whiston Hospital site.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, caring and compassionate individual who has a keen interest in managing patients requiring artificial nutrition support and who is ready to work towards expanding, strengthening and developing the current service. The post holder will support the delivery of nutritional services within the Trust, working with the multidisciplinary team supporting medical, nursing and other clinical colleagues to ensure the quality of nutritional care to patients is maximised.

The applicant should have experience in providing in and outpatient care to patients with nutritional problems; they should be familiar with parenteral and enteral nutrition support and can plan, assess, implement and evaluate patients\' nutritional care. It is essential to possess excellent interpersonal skills along with the ability to work efficiently and independently.

You should be self-motivated and have a positive attitude towards change. The applicant must demonstrate commitment to their own continued professional development and be committed to contribute to the long-term development of the nutrition service. Ideally the successful candidate would have post registration course applicable to nutrition.

Main duties of the job

• The Lead Nutrition Nurse Specialist will be an integral part of the clinical management team supporting the Gastroenterology department during the work week.
• The Lead Nutrition Nurse Specialist will demonstrate advanced autonomous clinical practice working across traditional boundaries and augmenting the medical role, utilising assessment, decision making and diagnostic skills.
• By independently ordering and interpreting investigations, the Lead Nutrition Nurse Specialist demonstrates the ability to safely manage his/her own caseload, identifying the need to involve other members of the MDT, ensuring high quality, effective management of patients.
• The Lead Nutrition Nurse Specialist will take the lead, participate in educational sessions; clinical supervision; research, audit as well as quality and service improvement, ensuring high quality, effective management of patients.
• The post holder will abide by legal requirements and statutory rules relating to their practice maintaining standards of professional practice in accordance with the NMC guidelines

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our Services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Job details

Date posted: 09 October 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 8a

Salary: £55,690 to £62,682 a year Per Annum

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working, Compressed hours

Reference number: 409- 7129348

Location: Whiston Hospital, Warrington Road, Rainhill, Prescot, L35 5DR

Clinical responsibilities

• Provide advanced levels of clinical practice, knowledge and skills in nutrition. The primary focus will be nutrition patients.
• Undertake history and physical examination to accurately assess the patient\'s condition.
• Request, interpret and act upon relevant diagnostic tests and procedures.
• Interpret, convey and act upon complex information to MDT members/patients/relatives including in stressful situations.
• Act as a clinical expert providing continuous support to the nursing staff and other MDT members within and outside designated area of work.
• Undertake advanced procedures pertaining to patient need, in accordance with appropriate training and clinical supervision.
• Prescribe medication in accordance with current legislation and trust policy, including parenteral nutrition and medications for short bowel syndrome.
• Perform clinic review of nutrition patients, providing support for consultants.
• Lead on service improvement and develop self-supported remote follow up clinic.
• Provide unsupervised support for acute medical admissions unit and emergency department including clinical review of day ward attenders.
• Maintain comprehensive, contemporaneous and accurate nursing/medical records and documentation using IT where available.
• Effectively manage acute life-threatening conditions in line with current ALS/ATLS/ALERT guidelines as appropriate.
• Act as a role model, fostering high standards of practice and effective working partnerships.
• Participate in multidisciplinary ward rounds/board rounds, case conferences and clinical/audit meetings.
• Gain informed consent for procedures undertaken by self or on behalf of others, in line with Trust policy.
• Provide evidence-based specialist knowledge and advice to patients and families throughout their journey.
• Provide clinical expertise in management of patients using specialist skills.
• Facilitate and support unit co-ordinators/ward managers to develop effective working relationships with the MDT.
• Act as an autonomous practitioner exercising judgement and decision making in clinical care.
• Undertake nurse prescribing as part of the designated role and provide autonomous practice.
• Support junior medical staff, sharing clinical workload and enabling training and development.

Leadership and development

• Ensure patient experience remains the focus for service improvement within the Directorate.
• Provide clinical support to complaints and investigations.
• Support senior staff and clinical teams in maximizing patient flow through units to meet elective and emergency demand, using leadership and clinical skills.
• Contribute to service developments within the directorate and at strategic level.
• Attend governance and business meetings and promote effective team working.
• Provide leadership to nursing and medical staff in training and development, ensuring consistent high-quality care.
• Support Trust management teams with ongoing clinical care provision and safe flow through the Trust.

Education and training

• Adherence to Clinical Nurse Specialist competency framework.
• Attend mentor meetings with respective Consultants.
• Take responsibility for own professional development and identify areas for development.
• Raise awareness of specialty conditions across Gastroenterology including nutrition reviews.
• Facilitate learning environments for nursing, medical and student staff with supervision and training.
• Assist in identified training needs and participate in delivery; provide supervision and tuition to staff.

Clinical governance

• Develop good working relationships with medical and nursing staff and other MDT members.
• Act in accordance with NMC guidelines/Code of Professional Conduct.
• Attend trust-wide audits and lead reporting of incidents/concerns with action to address safety and quality issues.
• Develop and implement policies and strategies aligned with evidence-based practice (e.g. NICE/DoH).
• Identify and implement clinical guidelines to aid MDT management and ambulatory care pathways.
• Promote evidence-based practice and participate in clinical guidelines, standards and protocols.
• Engage in complaint reviews and RCAs; disseminate lessons learned and drive continuous improvement.
• Support research and clinical audit to inform practice and improve patient care.
• Promote patient and public involvement in service development.
• Understand and apply local policies/procedures; ensure safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in practice.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse Diploma/Degree
• Masters level qualification relevant to specialty (or working towards)
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Post-registration qualification in specialist areas
• Teaching and assessing qualification - Level 6
• Current ALS/ILS certification
• Clinical Examination Skills Course - Level 6 or above
• Independent Nurse Prescriber - Level 6 or above

Desirable

• Relevant counselling qualification to specialism - Level 3

Knowledge & Experience

• Post registration experience in an area exposed to Nutrition patients
• Significant experience as Band 6 or above
• Proven track record in service development and change implementation
• Experience of teaching and assessing students/staff in the clinical area
• Leadership qualities and previous management experience

Skills

• Change management ability and advanced communication skills
• Ability to analyse data and produce written reports
• IT skills, including word processing and spreadsheets
• Knowledge of NHS issues and policy relating to specialist areas
• Autonomous work capability and strong organisational/communication skills
• Ability to communicate sensitive information in various settings
• Experience in clinical audit and research
• Leadership qualities

Other

• Ability to concentrate for patient clinical work; manage unpredictable work patterns
• Ability to handle distressing or emotional circumstances, including patient complaints and bad news

Regulatory and sponsorship

Disclosure and Barring Service Check: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and will require a DBS disclosure.

Certificate of Sponsorship: Applications from job seekers requiring Skilled Worker sponsorship will be considered.

UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration.