SoNAR Neonatal Transport Nurse

Integrated Care System; Bristol; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider seeks a Band 6 Neonatal Transport Nurse to join the SoNAR team in Bristol. This role involves the safe transport of critically ill infants, requiring specialized nursing expertise and strong communication skills. You will collaborate closely with a dedicated team, facing clinical challenges in a supportive environment that champions staff development and high-quality patient care. Flexible shifts including nights and weekends may be required.

Qualifications

• Extensive post registration experience and caring for critically ill infants.
• Willingness to develop leadership skills.
• Experience in teaching and mentoring.

Responsibilities

• Safe transportation of critically ill infants and their families.
• Work effectively as part of a medical/nursing team.
• Manage under extreme clinical and logistical pressures.

Skills

Communication

Leadership

Problem-solving

Interpersonal skills

Time-management

Education

RSCN Part 8/RN (Child branch Part 15)

Post basic certificate in critical care

Degree level education or working towards

Specialty qualification in neonatal/paediatric critical care

Neonatal and Paediatric Resuscitation Courses

Assessing and mentoring qualification

Job description

Go back University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

SoNAR Neonatal Transport Nurse

The closing date is 16 July 2025

Within the Southwest Neonatal network, there are approximately 1200 transfers each year of infants requiring specialist critical care, as well as for those infants being taken back nearer to their home hospitals. These transfers are generally carried out in road ambulances, though an increasing number are undertaken using the air ambulance. As part of the SoNAR Neonatal Transport Service, you will work closely with an enthusiastic and committed team of Nurses, Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, Junior Doctors, Advanced Paramedics and Consultants.

Transport Nurses use their neonatal nursing expertise, alongside their trouble-shooting, communication, and planning and team working skills, playing a key role in the provision of a safe and high quality transport service. You will have the opportunity to develop these skills in a nurturing environment with support and guidance from the transport team. You will develop expertise in transport equipment, transport logistics, and responding to clinical challenges in the transport environment which will become central to the delivery of high quality neonatal transfers in our region.

SoNAR is a single transport service with teams operating out of a northern and southern hub. This role is for a transport nurse based in the northern hub, in a new premises in Aztec West, Bristol.

Main duties of the job

As a Band 6 neonatal transport nurse , you will have a key role in the safe transportation of critically ill infants and their families. Following completion of comprehensive induction training you will undertake a range of transfers either independently, or as part of a medical/nursing team depending on the requirements of the infant. These transfers may be undertaken as aeromedical or road transfers. The role requires that you work effectively as part of a small team both in the referring and receiving hospitals, when en-route between hospitals, and those occasions when you are working independently on a nurse led transfer. There will be times when you are working under extreme clinical and logistical pressures, where you will need to be able to operate effectively, and support the staff around you in stressful situations. Some transfers will be undertaken independently. These nurse-led transfers will include, where appropriately triaged in discussion with the Transport ANNP/Fellow/Consultant, the transfer of stable infants requiring high-dependency care. Your expertise in transport equipment, transport logistics, and responding to clinical challenges in the transport environment will become central to the delivery of high quality neonatal transfers in our region.

About us

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. 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 the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. 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.

Job responsibilities

For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and Person Specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person Specification

• Excellent face to face, and virtual communication skills
• Leadership qualities, including being a good role model
• Ability to work well both independently and within a small team
• Able to work autonomously and safely with remote / off-site support
• Able to manage conflicts / work constructively with people under pressure
• Awareness and engagement with emotional support and welfare of oneself/team
• Flexibility and ability to cover shift patterns including nights and weekends
• Engage and contribute to the development of the transport service

Knowledge and experience

• Extensive related post registration experience
• Previous experience caring for infants requiring intensive care
• Willingness to develop existing leadership skills and knowledge
• Previous critical care transport experience
• Experience and evidence of teaching, assessing, and mentoring

Skills and abilities

• Ability to plan and prioritise own work and the work of others
• Evidence of excellent problem-solving skills
• Assertive and proactive
• Excellent neonatal / paediatric clinical critical care skills
• Ability to manage when under pressure
• Excellent interpersonal communication and time-management skills
• Self motivated and able to motivate others
• Basic computer skills and competent to use windows/microsoft programmes
• Ability to carry out moderate physical activities associated with moving and loading transport equipment
• Ability to support families effectively during stressful episodes

Qualifications and Training

• RSCN PArt 8/RN (Child branch Part 15) RN/RM
• Post basic certificate or related study in critical care
• Educated to degree level or working towards
• Speciality qualification in neonatal / paediatric critical care
• Neonatal and Paediatric Resuscitation Courses
• Assessing and mentoring qualification or willingness to undertake

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.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)