Senior Community Nurse (with special interest in CHC)

Eput; Ivy Chimneys; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday

Pension up to 14.5%

£8K relocation package

Staff discounts

Season ticket loans

Job summary

EPUT is recruiting a Senior Community Nurse (Band 6) with a special interest in Continuing Healthcare to lead clinical care in the West Essex area. This role involves coordinating NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments, liaising with CHC teams, GPs, and social services to ensure funding and high-quality care for eligible patients.

You will work autonomously within the Community Nursing Team, delivering skilled nursing and teaching programmes, while supporting patients in their own homes and local

Qualifications

• District Nurse qualification or equivalent advanced practitioner status
• Experience with Assessments of health and social needs, care planning and coordination
• Nurse prescriber or willingness to undertake
• Knowledge of NHS Funded Continuing Healthcare criteria and guidance

Responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive and complex assessment of patients’ needs to determine NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility.
• Initiate palliative care packages with multi-agency providers.
• Provide nursing care in community settings including patients’ homes and residential homes.
• Maintain accurate nursing records per NMC guidelines and local policy.
• Lead teaching programmes and pre/post-registration nurse placements; support self-care planning with patients and families.

Skills

Autonomous practice

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

District Nurse or equivalent advanced practitioner

Job description

Senior Community Nurse (with special interest in CHC)

Band 6

Main area Community Services - Senior Community Nurse with special interest in CHC Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week Job ref 364-B-606

Site St Margaret's Hospital Town Epping Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum, plus 5% HCA Salary period Yearly Closing 17/11/2026 23:59

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.

Job overview

The post holder will have a special interest in Continuing Healthcare assessments and will be responsible together with the CHC coordinator for co-ordination of assessments of patients to identify eligibility for NHS Funded Health Care including entitlement for funding in respect of NHS Continuing Health Care and Funded Nursing care, working closely with the West Essex and Hertfordshire ICB Continuing Healthcare Team.

The post holder will be responsible for providing highly skilled nursing care to the residents of West Essex, promoting the health of the population and reducing the effects of ill health and disability and maximising the individual’s potential for independence. She/he will work closely with General Practices, Social Services and other statutory and non-statutory services to meet the needs of the local population using public health information to support service development.

The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner within the Community Nursing Team supporting the delivery of care and supporting patients own homes/residential care homes working in collaboration with system partners and as part of the Primary Care Networks and the local neighbourhoods as part of the out of hospital model of care

Main duties of the job

• Undertake comprehensive and complex assessment of patients’ needs in conjunction with the patient, family/carer and hospitals in order to determine eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding in line with the Continuing Healthcare Framework.
• Initiates palliative care packages with multi-agency providers in collaboration with primary, secondary sectors and patient/family.
• To provide a comprehensive service to patients in a variety of community settings including patients’ own homes and residential homes.
• Is aware of current evidence based approaches to patient care and demonstrates this in practice.
• Frequently provide support to patients and their families when they are emotionally distressed as a result of terminal illness.
• Frequently required to deliver complex and distressing information to both patients/family/carers.
• Lead/contribute to the development and review of guidelines/policies.
• Lead and contribute to audit programmes and disseminate/apply findings.
• Assess the need for service aids and equipment and ensure that those provided are used appropriately and safely.
• Report to the Integrated Care Manager any deficiency in the provision of service aids, equipment and staff.
• Maintain accurate nursing records that exist contemporaneously in accordance with NMC guidelines and local policy.
• Responsible for the development and allocation of teaching programmes/practice placement for all pre and post registration nurses and others.

Working for our organisation

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.

• Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
• Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
• If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
• Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• £8K relocation package if you move to Essex to join us (subject to terms and conditions)
• Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

ROLE SUMMARY

The post holder will have a special interest in Continuing Healthcare assessments and will be responsible together with the CHC coordinator for co-ordination of assessments of patients to identify eligibility for NHS Funded Health Care including entitlement for funding in respect of NHS Continuing Health Care and Funded Nursing care, working closely with the West Essex and Hertfordshire ICB Continuing Healthcare Team.

The post holder will be responsible for providing highly skilled nursing care to the residents of West Essex, promoting the health of the population and reducing the effects of ill health and disability and maximising the individual’s potential for independence. She/he will work closely with General Practices, Social Services and other statutory and non-statutory services to meet the needs of the local population using public health information to support service development.

The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner within the Community Nursing Team supporting the delivery of care and supporting patients own homes/residential care homes working in collaboration with system partners and as part of the Primary Care Networks and the local neighbourhoods as part of the out of hospital model of care

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES CLINICAL

Clinical/Professional Duties

• Undertake comprehensive and complex assessment of patients’ needs in conjunction with the patient, family/carer and hospitals in order to determine eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding in line with the Continuing Healthcare Framework.
• Initiates palliative care packages with multi-agency providers in collaboration with primary, secondary sectors and patient/family.
• To provide a comprehensive service to patients in a variety of community settings including patients’ own homes and residential homes.
• Is aware of current evidence based approaches to patient care and demonstrates this in practice.
• Frequently provide support to patients and their families when they are emotionally distressed as a result of terminal illness.
• Frequently required to deliver complex and distressing information to both patients/family/carers.
• Lead/contribute to the development and review of guidelines/policies.
• Lead and contribute to audit programmes and disseminate/apply findings.
• Assess the need for service aids and equipment and ensure that those provided are used appropriately and safely.
• Report to the Integrated Care Manager any deficiency in the provision of service aids, equipment and staff.
• Maintain accurate nursing records that exist contemporaneously in accordance with NMC guidelines and local policy.
• Responsible for the development and allocation of teaching programmes/practice placement for all pre and post registration nurses and others.
• Work in partnership with the patient to achieve optimum levels of self-care. Demonstrate, teach and supervise the nursing care that families can undertake safely, advising as necessary. Documenting on the care plan accordingly.
• Advise the family on prevention of illness and accidents. Foster and support a self-management approach to care where appropriate.

Communication Skills

• Organise patient care with other Health Care Professionals, Statutory and/or Voluntary Agencies co‑ordinating these through case conferences.
• Work closely with partners in identifying health needs of the practice population, and develop services in response to those needs.

Education and Research

• Attend relevant education and training programmes to maintain personal/professional development and meet NMC requirements.
• Undertake the role of preceptorship/mentorship as required.
• Engage in Nurse Prescribing following V100/V300 qualification and NMC registration and ensure safe prescribing practice within professional and Trust guidelines/policies.
• Lead the team in the development of the skills necessary to deliver the core Community Services.
• Participate in team, Locality and Trust initiatives as required with specific focus on the Nursing Strategy and other relevant modernisation agenda.
• Reflect on practice regularly and plan personal/professional development in order to achieve growth and development. Access Clinical Supervision to enhance reflective practice.

Managerial Responsibilities

• Undertakes risk management in a variety of unpredictable and unavoidable working conditions. For example may involve taking appropriate precautions when dealing with chemotherapy drugs, bodily fluids, threatening patients and unhygienic conditions which may constitute a health risk.
• Ensure that Service Aids and Equipment are used in accordance with manufacturer’s guidance and to notify all known hazards to appropriate personnel.
• The post holder will ensure that in their absence team members are aware of the nominated District Nurse who will support the caseload and the team.
• The post holder will delegate responsibility to the appropriate community nurse within the team to undertake and manage the workload of the teams and any Trust objectives.
• Provide relevant support to other Community Teams in the absence of the senior staff members.
• Report on all incidents and untoward occurrences and implement recommendations.
• Manage informal complaints and implement the recommendations following formal complaints.
• Meet with team members daily to plan, delegate and evaluate patient care and to review and adjust allocation of work accordingly.
• Arrange in conjunction with the Team Leader, Induction Programmes for new members of staff.
• Attend relevant meetings to support the team and locality.
• Meet with team members on a regular basis to disseminate Trust information.
• Ensure statistical returns for the whole team are completed within agreed times scale by self and team members.
• Be responsible for the development of the team through individual staff professional/personal development reviews, supervision and team meetings.
• Implement appropriate operational frameworks and objectives as agreed by the team and locality or the professional forum.

Information Management

• Input data and information accurately.

Policy/Service Development

• Ensure all trust policies and procedures are implemented by staff, recommending and negotiating changes as necessary.

Freedom To Act

• The post holder will at times be required to work unsupervised.

Effort and Environment

• Ensure that the environment is safe and is an area that is conducive for learning and for patient care.

Competence

• You are responsible for limiting your actions to those which you feel competent to undertake. If you have any doubts about your competence during the course of your duties you should immediately speak to your line manager/supervisor.

Registered Health Professional

• Must comply with the Code of Professional Conduct of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which incorporates the Scope of Professional Practice and the Guidelines for Professional Practice.
• All registered nurses will be required to provide evidence of relevant registration(s) as required. Failure to do so may lead to disciplinary.
• Responsible for ensuring that the Community Teamwork within relevant Trust guidelines/Policies and ensuring agreed standards of practice are achieved, with the DNS.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• District Nurse or equivalent level of advanced practitioner education
• Experience of assessments of health and social needs - care planning and coordination
• Experience in undertaking Continuing Healthcare Assessments
• Teaching and assessing qualification
• Nurse prescriber or willingness to undertake
• Knowledge of and experience of NHS Funded Continuing Healthcare criteria - guidance and policies

Managerial Experience

• Knowledge of key issues in primary care
• Ability to deliver core service requirement
• Understand of and ability to carry out audits
• knowledge of guideline development

Seervice Transformation

• Knowledge of services provided by other agencies
• Understanding of the NHS Modernisation agenda

Corporate

• Current driving license valid for the UK
• Access to car for work purposes - car owner

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.
Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note -staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

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.