Retrieve ACCTS Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner Peninsula region-Cornwall

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; Launceston; On-site; GBP 58,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Peninsula Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner (Band 8a) to lead Retrieve ACCTS at the Cornwall base in Launceston. The role is a 12-month fixed-term post, with expected leadership of a skilled team and responsibility for service development and patient transfer protocols.

You will drive quality, oversee education, manage the base budget, and work with regional leaders to ensure consistent standards across the South West.

Qualifications

• Significant and recent clinical experience in a high-acuity setting (critical care, emergency medicine or anaesthetics).
• Proven ability to lead and manage a multi-professional team.
• Experience with clinical governance and quality improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead and be a role model for the multi-professional team, ensuring high-quality clinical care in line with guidelines.
• Develop and maintain transfer protocols and guidelines with key stakeholders.
• Oversee Training and Education team and support a high-quality education programme.

Skills

Leadership

Critical care

Clinical governance

Audit data

Budget management

Staff development

Education

Degree or equivalent clinical qualification

Teaching/mentoring qualification

Masters study

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Main area Retrieve, Adult Critical Care Transfer Service Grade Band 8a Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Secondment considered) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 387-S9761-ALX-A

Employer Bristol NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Retrieve - Peninsula Base Town Launceston, Cornwall Salary £57,528 - £64,750 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 18/11/2026 23:59

Retrieve ACCTS Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner Peninsula region-Cornwall

Band 8a

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced senior clinician to join Retrieve as Peninsula Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner (Band 8a) on a 12-month fixed-term basis.

Retrieve is the South West’s dedicated Adult Critical Care Transfer Service (ACCTS), part of a national network of services commissioned by NHS England. Operating 24/7/365 from two bases, Peninsula (Launceston, Cornwall) and Severn (Bristol), we manage referrals and safely transfer critically ill and injured adults between hospitals across the region. Both bases deliver an identical service, so every patient in the South West gets equal access to our care.

We are looking for an experienced clinician with established management experience who is ready to take the next step in their career. You may come from a nursing or Allied Health Professional background, with a strong grounding in critical care, emergency medicine, anaesthetics, theatres or another high-acuity setting. You will be a confident leader and a professional role model, with a passion for improving care for some of the sickest patients in our region.

This is a rare chance to lead in a unique, high-profile regional service, to influence how critical care transfers are delivered across the South West and nationally, and to develop your leadership career in a supportive, forward-thinking team.

Main duties of the job

As Peninsula Base Lead, you will be responsible for the operational delivery and continued development of the base. You will lead and inspire a skilled multi-professional team, drive quality improvement, and work in close partnership with the Severn Base Lead, Clinical Director and Base Lead Consultants to shape the service across the South West. You will also oversee training and education, manage the service budget, and use audit and data to measure our performance against national quality indicators.

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations,operatingfrom three main sites at Southmead, Bristol citycentreand Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that theSouth Westhas to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As Peninsula Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner, you will:

• Lead and be a role model for the multi-professional team, making sure clinical care is of the highest quality and in line with national guidance and the NHS England Service Specification.

In partnership with the Clinical Director, Base Lead Consultants and key stakeholders develop and maintain up to date, evidence‑based transfer protocols and guidelines.

• Oversee the Training and Education team to support the delivery of a high‑quality in‑house education programme that develops and maintains the skills of the team.
• Develop and deliver the Peninsula base strategy and business plan, working closely with the Severn Base Lead to keep the service consistent across both bases.
• Co‑lead clinical governance, including protocols, complaints, incidents, risk and audit benchmarked against NHS England Quality Indicators.
• Manage the Peninsula base budget,
• Advocate for patients and families, and work closely with Critical Care Units, partner services and contractors across the South West.
• Use transfer data, trends and incident reports to manage risk and continuously improve the service.
• Monitor staffing, absence, training compliance and resources, and recruitment.
• Make sure data submitted to national databases is accurate and timely, and that documentation meets professional and Retrieve standards.
• Represent Retrieve regionally and nationally, including through the South West Critical Care Network Transfer Group and the national ACCTS Operational & Clinical Group

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details.

For an informal discussion, please contact Caroline Hindley Peninsula base Lead Nurse 07885589223

Person specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Ability to demonstrate significant and recent clinical experience in a high-acuity setting, such as critical care, emergency medicine or anaesthetics (E)
• Ability to lead and manage a team (E)
• Understanding of the principles and application of effective staff and HR management/appraisals (E)
• Understanding the theory and application of clinical governance (E)
• Understanding and evidence of the use of audit in clinical practice (E)
• Ability to act as a role model, providing excellent patient care and promoting a culture where staff feel valued (E)
• Previous experience of change management and problem solving (E)
• Previous experience of ensuring a safe environment (E)

Skills and Abilities

• Attention to detail in the development, production and dissemination of documents and information (E)
• Ability to work in a highly demanding specialist environment and use of reflective practice (E)
• Strong organisational skills - prioritising complex situations (E)
• Able to work across professional team and organisational boundaries (E)
• Demonstrates ability to implement and utilise audit data to improve quality (E)
• Able to advise on and implement improvements to the quality and efficiency of care for patients in the service (E)
• Ability to analyse, interpret and compare complex facts or situations and act appropriately (E)
• Ability to work with advanced technologies (E)
• Flexibility, adaptability to meet needs of a changing service (E)
• Self‑motivated and able to motivate others (E)
• Evidence of continued leadership / management development (E)
• Knowledge of national and local specialty specific issues (E)
• Previous experience of research and audit (E)
• Experience of presentations at local and regional level (D)
• Critical care clinical skills

IM & T

• Competent in the use of IT packages such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint (E)
• Competent in videoconferencing using Microsoft Teams (E)
• Good knowledge of, and experience of the management of, Electronic Patient Record systems (D)

Qualifications and Training

• Degree or equivalent clinical qualification (E)
• Qualification in Teaching, Assessing and mentoring (E)
• Evidence of Masters level academic study or willingness to work towards Masters (in relevant health related subject) (E)
• Completion of Step 1-3 competencies or equivalent experience in critical care. (E)

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.