Physical Health Nurse

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust; Dartford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS trust in Dartford is seeking a Physical Health Nurse (RGN) to support women with mental health conditions. The role involves assessing physical health needs, mentoring staff, and providing education on healthier lifestyle choices. Candidates must be RGN qualified with relevant experience. The position offers a competitive salary inclusive of a High Cost Area Allowance and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

High Cost Area Supplement

Ongoing professional development

Comprehensive induction program

Qualifications

• Qualified RGN required with post-registration experience.
• Experience in assessing physical health needs in a mental health setting is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Ensure physical health needs of inpatient mental health patients are met.
• Develop staff knowledge to enhance their competence in physical health assessments.
• Provide training in physical health for ward staff.

Skills

Assessment of physical health needs

Mentorship

Collaboration in care planning

Education of healthier lifestyle

Education

Qualified RGN with NMC pin registration

Mentorship Qualification - Teaching & Assessing

Job description

Overview

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust is recruiting for a Physical Health Nurse (RGN) to help shape a new and innovative service for the women of Kent and Medway. The closing date is 28 September 2025. The start date for this post will be January 2026, to allow for onboarding, induction, and training before the anticipated arrival of the first patient in April 2026. All positions also benefit from a High Cost Area allowance.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, come and join our diverse and compassionate team committed to delivering excellent care and support for service users and their loved ones.

Main duties of the job

• To ensure that the physical health needs are met for those individuals with mental illness are met whilst an inpatient on a Mental health Ward
• Develop staff knowledge to enhance their confidence and competence to enable them to recognise and address the physical health needs of acutely unwell patients within an inpatient unit. This includes developing their ability to collaboratively develop a person-centred care plan.
• Engage in audit and evaluation
• Be part of a team wishing to always improve the user experience of mental health services
• Support the management team in a leadership role
• Offer up-to-date training in physical health for all ward staff
• Liaise and build a working relationship within our local acute Trust hospitals.
• To be confident and competent to perform the relevant nursing physical health assessments, which includes the 6 parameters of the Lester Tool for all patients within 72 hours of admission, including all vital signs.
• To provide education either in a group setting or on a one to one basis for our patients concerning living a healthier lifestyle.

About us

Working in a PICU is very rewarding but we want to be honest and share that it is demanding too. It is likely to be needed by people with severe and complex mental health conditions (e.g. Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder and may be associated with Personality Disorder, Substance Misuse and PTSD).

While emotionally challenging, the opportunity to support critically unwell women back to their communities, ensuring 'right care, in the right place, at the right time', is immense, and your skilled, multidisciplinary, team will be there to support you.

You would be working as part of a team of mental health experts, dedicated to making sure the most unwell women in our communities have the same access to specialist care as men.

We are recruiting now to make sure our new female PICU team is in place with enough time to train, form team bonds and prepare. So you can all make a profound difference to patient outcomes from day one.

We also offer ongoing professional development to help you adapt and progress your career, including bespoke training and a comprehensive induction program.

All jobs based at our Dartford unit come with a High Cost Area Supplement: 5% of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £1303 per year and a maximum payment of £2198 per year (the agreed annual amount will be divided into 12 equal amounts and paid monthly). The salary listed is inclusive of the High-Cost Area Allowance.

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description for full details and main responsibilities of the role.

Quick Apply Option

To apply quickly, send your CV to [e-mail] quoting the job reference number.

Person Specification

Qualification & Experience

• Qualified RGN with NMC pin registration with Post-Registration Experience
• Mentorship Qualification - Teaching & Assessing
• Experience of assessing physical health needs in a mental health setting

Knowledge and Experience of Mental Health treatment

• Working with patient diagnosed with mental health conditions

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.

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust

£40,617 to £48,778 a year per annum (inclusive of High Cost Area allowance)