Nurse Consultant – Urgent Community Response & Virtual Frailty Ward

NHS; England; On-site; GBP 66,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health services provider in the UK is seeking an experienced Nurse Consultant for Urgent Community Response & Virtual Frailty Ward. This role requires clinical expertise in elderly care, strong leadership skills, and a commitment to high-quality care delivery. The successful candidate will work across multiple sites in Berkshire, and engage in strategic development and direct patient care, contributing significantly to the service's innovation and effectiveness.

Benefits

Flexible working options

27 days' annual leave

Career development opportunities

Cycle to Work scheme

Wellbeing tools and services

Discounts at retailers

Generous maternity and paternity leave

Free parking

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with NMC.
• Teaching qualification with recent experience.
• Advanced history taking and physical examination qualification.
• Non-medical prescribing qualification.
• Previous experience with older adults and urgent care.
• UK driving licence required.

Responsibilities

• Lead advanced, autonomous clinical care for older adults.
• Support evidence-based practice across the UCR VFW service.
• Act as a senior clinical leader and provide advice.
• Create a learning culture for professional development.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical expertise in elderly care

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Education

Registered Nurse

Teaching qualification

Masters and/or higher degree

Clinical reasoning qualification

Job description

Nurse Consultant – Urgent Community Response & Virtual Frailty Ward

We are seeking a Nurse Consultant to work alongside our existing UCR VFW Nurse Consultant and join our Berkshire UCR VFW teams, where your clinical expertise and strategic leadership will make a real difference.

This is a rotational post across our four UCR VFW teams, giving you the opportunity to work with a range of professionals, share best practice and influence the delivery of high-quality consistent care across the service.

As Nurse Consultant for UCR VFW, you will be working closely with our Nurse Consultant and be jointly responsible for leading and developing advanced nursing practice across the service. Operating at a strategic level, you will collaborate with Consultant Geriatricians and multidisciplinary teams including nursing, therapy and medical colleagues to deliver safe, effective and person‑centred care that supports people to remain well at home.

You will jointly lead on clinical innovation and excellence in patient care, provide strategic and operational leadership, and work flexibly across the four teams within Berkshire. You will spend at least 50% of your time in direct autonomous clinical practice, maintaining a strong connection to patient care.

We are looking for a senior nurse with extensive experience in older adult care, strong leadership and strategic thinking skills, a commitment to continuous improvement and evidence‑based practice, and the flexibility to travel across multiple sites as required.

Main duties of the job

Advanced and Expert Level Practice

• Lead advanced, autonomous clinical care for older adults living with frailty, including assessment, prescribing, and care planning.
• Maintain expert clinical skills and provide direct patient care (minimum 50% of time).
• Support safe, evidence‑based practice across UCR VFW service and promote patient‑centred care in partnership with families and carers.
• Actively contribute to multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings and apply advanced clinical reasoning in complex cases.

Consultancy and Leadership

• Lead the development and implementation of frailty care models across the service.
• Act as a senior clinical leader, offering expert advice, driving quality improvement, and promoting patient safety.
• Represent the service in internal and external reviews, legal proceedings, and trust‑wide initiatives.
• Provide compassionate leadership, coaching, and mentorship to support team development and workforce sustainability.

Education and Training

• Create a learning culture that supports professional development for nurses and students.
• Collaborate with education providers to develop and deliver training on frailty, ageing well, and clinical excellence.
• Promote evidence‑based practice and enhance the clinical competence of UCR VFW staff.
• Service Development, Evaluation, Research & Audit.
• Develop and implement clinical standards, policies, and protocols aligned with national best practice.

About us

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority.
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services.
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions.

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work‑life balance.
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell.
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities.
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles.
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services.
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants.
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality.
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave.
• Free parking across Trust sites.

Job responsibilities

Staff Leadership and Management

• Act as a role model, mentor, educator, and coach, supporting staff development and succession planning.
• Follow performance management policies and recognise staff achievements.
• Promote effective communication, collaboration, and sharing of best practice.
• Oversee service delivery, ensuring patient and carer feedback is managed and addressed appropriately.
• Participate actively in regular team meetings.

Record Keeping

• Maintain accurate, timely documentation and care plans following NMC and governance standards.
• Lead inpatient documentation audits and share findings with the team.
• Monitor and record service activity, using data collaboratively to inform decision‑making.

The must haves for this role:

• Registered Nurse with the NMC.
• Teaching qualification with recent experience of delivering training.
• Advanced history taking and physical examination with clinical reasoning qualification.
• Non‑medical prescribing.
• Previous experience within older & adult and urgent care.
• Advanced and effective leadership/communication skills, written & verbal.
• UK driving licence.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point‑by‑point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

Were committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We have identified that this is a role where we have underrepresentation of ethnically diverse colleagues. As part of our commitment to inclusion and Unity Against Racism we offer guaranteed interviews to candidates who meet the essential criteria and identify as: Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Mixed and Other Ethnic Groups

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please dont hesitate to call: Deepa Devadas (UCR VFW Nurse Consultant) on 07836 778002 or email: [e-mail] wholl be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

• Registered Nurse.
• Masters and /or other higher degree.
• Teaching qualification with recent experience of delivering training/seminars.
• Advanced History Taking and Physical Examination with Clinical Reasoning qualification.
• Non‑medical prescribing.
• PhD.

Continuous Professional Development

• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Previous Experience

• Recent experience within older adult and urgent care.
• Extensive experience of managing a team of nurses/AHPs.
• Experience of analysis and reporting of data.
• Extensive senior leadership experience.
• Audit and research experience.
• Working and liaising with external partners.
• Experience of policy and protocol development and production.
• Engaging with senior managers and directors.
• Provide evidence of presenting and working with external professional networks.
• Minimum of 6 yrs. post registration at senior nurse/management level.
• Minimum of 3 yrs. practising at an advanced clinical level with older people with complex needs.
• Proven experience of implementing major change initiatives in a clinical setting.
• Evidence of leading service improvement programmes across services and with MDT's and in partnership with patients.
• Evidence of managing budgets and budget setting.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Ability to write for publication.

Additional Requirements

• UK Driving Licence.
• Daily use of a car.
• Ability to travel between multiple sites efficiently.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

£66,653 to £77,094 a yearper annum (incl of HCAS)