Senior Staff Nurse

North Cheshire And Mersey Nhs Foundation Trust; Runcorn; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust seeks an experienced Band 6 Senior Staff Nurse to lead the Community Winter Stepdown Ward at Halton Hospital for the 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027 period. You will combine direct patient care with leadership, discharge planning, and coordinating patient flow to support timely discharge and safe transitions.

The role requires strong clinical leadership, effective collaboration with therapists, social care and primary care colleagues, and a focus

Qualifications

• Essential: RN First level (RGN) and District Nursing Degree (NMC) Specialist Practitioner qualification.
• Experience in community nursing and discharge planning.
• Proven leadership and mentoring abilities within a clinical setting.

Responsibilities

• Provide management and organisation of a clinical area, delegating workload to the skill mixed team.
• Assess, plan, deliver and evaluate programmes of care.
• Work with multidisciplinary team to meet patient and family needs.
• Provide leadership and development of staff and quality improvements.
• Mentor pre and post registration students.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical leadership

Discharge planning

Communication

Teamwork

Education

RN First level (RGN)

District Nursing Degree Specialist Practitioner

Job description

Job summary

This exciting Band 6 Senior Staff Nurse opportunity will be primarily based on Ward B3 at Halton Hospital, supporting the Community Winter Stepdown Ward from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027.

The Community Winter Stepdown Ward has been established to support system winter pressures by providing care for medically optimised patients who no longer require acute hospital intervention but require ongoing assessment, rehabilitation, discharge planning and support to progress through their discharge pathway. The ward plays a key role in reducing hospital length of stay, improving patient flow, preventing delayed discharges and supporting patients to return safely to their usual place of residence or onward care setting.

As a senior member of the nursing team, the post holder will provide strong clinical leadership and operational oversight to ensure the safe, effective and efficient delivery of care. The role combines direct patient care with leadership responsibilities, supporting the coordination of patient flow, management of discharge pathways, supervision of staff and continuous service improvement.

This post represents an excellent opportunity for an experienced nurse who is passionate about supporting medically optimised patients, facilitating timely discharge, maximising patient independence and delivering high-quality, recovery-focused care within an innovative intermediate care environment.

Main duties of the job

• Provide visible clinical leadership and professional nursing expertise within the Community Winter Stepdown Ward.
• Coordinate the day-to-day management of the ward, ensuring safe staffing levels, effective patient flow and timely progression through discharge pathways.
• Assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for medically optimised patients requiring ongoing rehabilitation, discharge support and recovery-focused interventions.
• Lead on comprehensive patient assessments, identifying barriers to discharge and implementing plans to overcome delays.
• Deliver high-quality, evidence-based nursing care that promotes recovery, independence and safe discharge outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team, including therapists, discharge coordinators, social workers, community services and primary care colleagues to facilitate seamless discharge planning and transitions of care.
• Support patients to achieve rehabilitation goals and maximise independence in preparation for discharge to their usual place of residence or onward care setting.
• Act as Nurse in Charge when required, coordinating clinical activity, managing patient flow and supporting operational demands.

Please see full job description attached for full list of duties.

About us

Flexible working will be considered for all roles.

North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust (NCM) serves more than one million residents across the Halton and Warrington boroughs and the wider North West region.

Bringing together community and out-of-hospital services (formerly provided by Bridgewater Community Healthcare) with inpatient and elective care (formerly Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals) we provide services at two hospital sites and more than 70 community hubs and facilities.

Our mission, vision and values are at the heart of North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust (NCM).

They underpin everything we do and everything we aspire to be as an organisation.

Our mission

We will be exceptional for our patients, our communities and each other

Our vision

We will be a great organisation providing excellent healthcare and opportunities to work and learn

Our values

• Kind: We are caring, supportive and respectful to everyone
• Open: We are honest, transparent and open to new ways of working
• Fair: We listen, value our differences and are inclusive to all
• One team: We work well together and with our communities

Details

Date posted: 29 October 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 6

Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year

Contract: Fixed term

Duration: 4 months

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number: C9835-WA26-157

Location: Halton Hospital, Hospital Way, RUNCORN, Cheshire, WA7 2DA, United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose:

• Provide management and organisation of a clinical area, delegating the workload to the skill mixed team as appropriate and as defined by the priority/acuity of the patients.
• Assess, plan, deliver and evaluate programmes of care.
• Work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team, meeting the needs of patients and their families / carers.
• Provide support, leadership and development of staff and quality improvements within the department within the team.
• Provide mentoring of pre and post registration students.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• RN First level (RGN)
• District Nursing Degree (NMC) Specialist Practitioner qualification.

Desirable

• Mentorship qualification or equivalent
• 1st line management/ leadership
• Non-medical prescribing V100/V150

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrates community experience
• Experience of high-level organisational skills
• Significant clinical experience related to the setting of care
• Significant experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team including in the management of acutely ill patients.

Desirable

• Audit and Research experience
• Recognised Management experience

Knowledge and Understanding

Essential

• Knowledge of professional and NHS issues relating to specialist knowledge.
• Range of core and extended clinical skills and demonstrate clinical knowledgeable related to setting of care.
• Detailed theoretical and clinical knowledge appropriate to setting of care
• Knowledge of professional and NHS issues relating to nursing

Skills and Attributes

Essential

• Able to perform complex assessments, plan, implement and evaluate care packages.
• Wide range of essential and enhanced clinical skills
• Proven leadership skills
• Able to communicate sensitive/unpleasant information to patients, relatives and/or carers.
• Able to demonstrate initiative.
• Ability to develop effective interpersonal relationships with colleagues across health and social care settings.
• Ability to communicate at a high level both verbally and written.
• Good IT skills.
• Risk assessment skills.
• Reflective practice skills, able to give clear and effective feedback
• The ability to work flexibly in accordance with ward / unit and Trusts needs.
• Displays compassion, sensitivity, and responsiveness to other peoples feelings and needs.
• Ability to teach, assess and mentor staff and pre and post registration students.
• Demonstrates values consistent with those of the Trust.
• Able to lead, prioritise, delegate and have good organisational skills
• Able to work and lead a team, co-operating together and willing to help and encourage the value of diversity in the workplace.
• Positive and flexible attitude when supporting change.
• Respond to the changing needs of the patient in a proficient, timely and calm manner, including when same is escalated by staff.
• Ability and willingness to adopt a flexible approach to work on the occasions it may be required

Desirable

• Able to research, undertake and evaluate evidence in order to contribute to practice development.

Right to Work

Essential

• Do you currently have the unrestricted right to work in the UK?
• If appointed, will you require sponsorship under a UK work visa route (now or in the future)?
• Please note that sponsorship