Senior Critical Care Registered Nurse

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Chester; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Senior Critical Care Registered Nurse to join our 15-bed Critical Care Unit. You will provide high standards of care to both elective and emergency critical care patients in a busy, supportive environment.

We are seeking an experienced nurse with a valid RGN registration, a post-registration critical care qualification (level 6/60 credits) and proven leadership within a busy ICU setting.

Qualifications

• Must be an experienced nurse with current NMC registration and post-registration critical care qualification.
• Experience in a critical care setting with leadership responsibilities is essential.
• Completion of a level 6/7 critical care course (60 credits) with Step 2/3 competencies is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Join a 15-bed Critical Care Unit and provide high standards of care for elective and emergency admissions.
• Demonstrate effective team leadership within a busy ICU environment.
• Contribute to quality improvement, audits and patient safety initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Critical care experience

Teamwork

Auditing

NHS knowledge

Education

Nursing degree or equivalent

Post-registration critical care qualification (60 credits)

Teaching and assessing qualification

Degree

Tools

Critical care equipment knowledge

Job description

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Critical Care Registered Nurse

The closing date is 29 October 2026

Working within a highly skilled, dynamic multi-disciplinary team, in our busy 15 bedded Critical Care Unit , which accommodates both level 3 and level 2 patients. This is an excellent opportunity for experienced, energetic, enthusiastic ICU staff nurses to provide a high standard of care to patients within a challenging, yet supportive acute hospital setting.

Main duties of the job

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Critical Care team working at The Countess of Chester Hospital. We are currently looking to a band 6 nurse to join our 15 bedded critical care unit, admitting elective and emergency admissions from a variety of specialties.

Experience in Critical Care is essential with experience in team leader role desirable. You will also need to have have completed the critical care course (level 6 or above with 60 credits) with Step 2 and 3 Critical Care Competencies completed.

Our unit is exciting and supportive where you will have the opportunity to work as part of a highly skilled, dynamic and friendly team. If you are looking for a challenge and are eager to provide a high quality service to patients, relatives and carers then this is the opportunity for you.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations:

• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualification

• RGN
• Achievement of a post registration qualification in teaching and assessing
• Completion of a level 6 or level 7 critical care post grad course qualification at 60 credits.
• Degree

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum of 3 years experience in critical care
• Completion of Step 2 national competencies
• Competent in a wide range of specialist procedures in critical care
• Awareness of professional and NHS issues
• Understanding of quality and change in the clinical setting
• Ability to use specialist equipment
• Experience in clinical audits and benchmarking

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.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust