Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist | Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Greater London is seeking an innovative nurse to join the Hillingdon Community Palliative Care Team. The successful candidate will enhance the continuity of care for patients and their families, triage clinical calls, and provide high-quality end-of-life care. Ideal candidates should possess first-class clinical skills and postgraduate experience in palliative care. Flexible hours are available, and a car user is essential. This role offers valuable experience in a supportive and dynamic environment.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Supportive team environment

Opportunity for professional growth

Qualifications

• Must have postgraduate experience working in community, hospital, or hospice environments with palliative care.
• Ability to work independently in community care settings.
• Understanding of treatment protocols and informed consent.

Responsibilities

• Improve the coordination and continuity of care for patients and families.
• Triaging calls and referrals to the service.
• Provide supportive nursing care for palliative patients.

Skills

First class clinical skills

Leadership ability

Excellent interpersonal skills

Ability to triage clinical calls

Creative and flexible approach

Education

Postgraduate experience in palliative care

Job description

CNWL are pleased to announce a vacancy within: Hillingdon's Palliative care service.

We are looking for an innovative, enthusiastic and dynamic nurse to join our team whose aim is to:

• Improve the coordination and continuity of care and support for patients and their families/carers.
• Enable supportive and proactive nursing care for people in the community who are palliative and at the end of life.

We are looking for an expert nurse with first class clinical skills, who have the ability to effectively triage clinical calls, have leadership ability, are strong team players, and who enjoy working in an ever changing and innovative environment.

You should have a creative, imaginative and flexible approach to service delivery and quality improvement and have excellent interpersonal skills with post graduate experience of working in the community, hospital or hospice environment with associated palliative care experience. Flexible working hours are available.

This is a Monday to Friday service working 8am to 4pm.

Car user essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Improve the coordination and continuity of care and support for patients and their families/carers.
• Triaging telephone calls in to the service from Patients, carers, relatives and Clinicians.
• Triaging referrals in to the service.
• Enable supportive and proactive nursing care for people in the community who are palliative or at the end of life providing high quality end of life care.
• Working closely within a multi-disciplinary team ensuring excellent communications are upheld.
• Hospital admission avoidance.
• Upholding ACP wishes of patients and supporting them to achieve their desired preferred place or care/death.

Additional Responsibilities

• To be professionally and legally accountable for all work undertaken. To work within the Provider operational guidelines the Trusts, and NMC Code of Conduct at all times.
• To ensure that the patient and their informal carers have an understanding of treatment protocols and give informed consent to examination and treatment interventions recommended.
• To undertake specialist‑nursing triage and assessment of clients with palliative care needs through subjective questioning, objective examination, and study of appropriate written material (e.g. clinical records) available. This will include acting as the first point of contact for palliative care across Hillingdon in both Primary and Secondary care settings and act as an expert nurse in palliative care for patients and their families with palliative care needs.
• To independently receive, assess and make referrals from a variety of sources where no other nursing professional is currently involved. To establish priority, to determine needs, initiate and monitor treatment plans and to direct and support clinicians in this process.
• To work independently within a general Multi‑Disciplinary Team to advise where needed, on a palliative approach to patients.
• To work autonomously in isolated community care settings that vary in relation to local socio economic and multi‑cultural.
• To use comprehensive knowledge of other multidisciplinary roles and external agencies to ensure best referral management and achieve best patient outcomes.
• To contribute to the development and implementation of uni‑disciplinary and multi‑disciplinary clinical policies, guidelines, protocols and care pathway.
• To participate in multi‑disciplinary assessments and cross‑agency assessments as required.
• To ensure dignity for the patients and their families at all times.
• To ensure clinical records are recorded and maintained on the team.
• To provide specialist contribution to health promotion and health education initiatives within the team.
• Attend, and actively participate in relevant departmental and nursing team meetings.
• To contribute to maintaining effective communication lines within the service and with other relevant services.
• To attend, actively participate in, and lead multi‑disciplinary meetings and case reviews as required.
• To participate in educational programmes and internal/external training initiatives designed to improve palliative skills in a range of professionals.
• To act when required as a mentor for nursing students undergoing CPD courses.
• To act as an educational resource for other nursing staff in their management of patients and families with palliative care needs.
• To evaluate all education and training initiatives undertaken and assist administration keep up to date statistics on personal performance.
• To utilise opportunities to develop skills and knowledge further, keep up‑to‑date with current practice in this field and attend accredited courses.
• To train and share with others the specialist knowledge gained through appropriate study or accredited/recognised specialist professional courses.
• To comply with all mandatory training.
• To establish and maintain effective lines of communication within the team, with service users, and with other health agencies.
• To communicate sensitive information in a form that is understandable to patients and their informal carers and promotes patient partnership with care.
• To communicate sensitive information in a manner that is recommended by national and local guidance.
• To effectively use a variety of verbal and non‑verbal communication skills/tools to ensure that patients and their informal carers understand individual therapeutic education and advice provided.
• To provide copies of all correspondence to patients according to the Trusts policies.
• To advise and negotiate complex information exchange, information, interrelationship issues arising with staff / patients and their carers/ local agencies. Inform the Line Manager promptly of any complaints or concerns expressed about the service.
• To make effective presentations using a range of multi‑media resources to internal and external staff groups for public relations and training/education purposes.
• To contribute to the research activities of the Palliative Care Team as required.
• To support research activity and studies underway e.g. by recruiting participants as required.
• To keep abreast of relevant clinical issues and research in the field of palliative care.
• To ensure that clinical practice is in line with national and local nursing guidelines and demonstrate clinical effectiveness with patient care.
• Contribute and support to the Clinical Governance strategy of the Palliative Care Centre and the Trust as required.
• Synthesise data and evidence from published research where applicable to the role, service and current practice.

Hillingdon Community Palliative care team are a small team of CNS's and admin that strive to provide the best possible care to Palliative/end of life patients in their own homes in the community.

Working for Hillingdon community Palliative care team, we pride ourselves on great teamwork and rising to the challenges of day to day working in such a diverse community.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

This advert closes on Sunday 7 Dec 2025.