Substance Misuse Nurse (Development Role)

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Rochester; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is looking for a dedicated Band 5 Substance Misuse Nurse at HMP Rochester. The role involves delivering high-quality healthcare in a secure environment, with opportunities for personal and professional development. Applicants must have completed their preceptorship, and responsibilities include providing care to offenders with substance misuse issues and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to promote holistic health.

Benefits

NHS pension

Career progression opportunities

Continuous professional development support

Qualifications

• Completion of preceptorship required.
• Experience with secure environments and substance misuse services desired.
• Willingness to participate in continuous professional development.

Responsibilities

• Provide primary care services and specialist interventions for offenders.
• Deliver nurse-led integrated primary care in a prison setting.
• Demonstrate robust expert clinical skills in care delivery.

Skills

Risk assessment

Communication

Evidence-based nursing practice

Education

Registered General Nurse qualification

Job description

Substance Misuse Nurse (Development Role)

Band 5

Main area Offender Healthcare Grade Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 277-7237082-ROCH

Site HMP Rochester Town Rochester Salary £31,970 - £46,962 pa inc Salary period Yearly Closing 18/06/2025 23:59

Job overview

We are looking for a Band 5 nurse who has successfully completed their preceptorship to join our dedicated Substance Misuse Team in a development role.

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

As part of our Substance misuse team, you will enjoy all the benefits of NHS AfC employment (inc pension) with the opportunity to work within a forward-thinking service, who encourage career and personal development to all staff to increase their clinical and interpersonal skills.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

As a registered nurse you will provide high quality primary care services and a range of specialist interventions for offenders. In this role you will have a specialist interest in supporting those with i dentified substance misuse / dependency and related physical health issues in a busy prison.

At HMP Rochester, we deliver a nurse-led integrated primary care service and operate a specialist practice-based clinical model of care.

This post is based at HMP Rochester, but will require
close working relationships with colleagues at nearby Kent prisons HMP Cookham Wood, HMPMaidstone and HMP East Sutton Park, and cross-cover may occasionally be required.

You will be delivering high quality clinical care within the Integrated Healthcare Service for the prison, demonstrating robust expert clinical skills and providing evidence-based nursing practice to those in prison.

A clear competency framework and time scale will be agreed with your line manager to ensure your personal and professional development can be met in order to uplift your role to a Band 6 once your development plan and goals have been met. You will work closely with the Substance Misuse Clinical Lead and Practice Development Nurse to guide and support you on your development journey.

You must have already completed your preceptorship to apply for this role.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Senior Nurse Developmental Role

We encourage experienced Band 5 nurses looking for a career in offender healthcare, with a structured progression pathway. If you have an interest in working with Substance Misuse patients, this is a great opportunity for you to learn and progress onto a Band 6.

Job descriptions and person specifications for both band 5 and band 6 are attached. Further professional development and training is strongly encouraged and supported.

Personal Development Plan

There will be a clear plan to support you in developing the competencies within the framework that will be agreed by your line manager. You will be supported and encouraged to take increasing autonomy over time.

Oxleas use a Personal Development Review (PDR) and Plan (PDP) process on an annual basis with all staff. In a preceptorship role, this structure will be used to support the agreement of a Personal Development Plan within the 12 weeks of starting your role with us. It will be reviewed more frequently than the usual PDR process, as agreed with your supervisor and manager e.g. every 6 months. Your Personal Development Plan will be agreed with your manager and supervisor who will support you in identifying areas of development and the associated activities and support required to work towards the competencies set out in the framework.

Summary of evidence

You will need to prepare a portfolio for documenting evidence of your skills and experiences to demonstrate your competence as a Senior Nurse. These competencies were derived from the NHSE and RCN competency framework.

Criteria for progression from Band 5 to Band 6

The developmental roles for newly qualified and experienced nurses have been introduced in Oxleas Forensic and Offender Healthcare to provide a framework that enables us to support colleagues to develop beyond their entry level role with a progressive and satisfying job plan. It is intended to support staff wellbeing, encourage the retention of quality staff and support individuals within the custodial setting with greater consistency of care.

It is expected that you will have the relevant post-qualification experience before applying to progress to Band 6.

A competency framework will be agreed with your clinical supervisor or line manager who will support you to achieve the competencies required of a Senior Nurse in Offender Healthcare.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

Sponsorship is not available for this post.

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

• Proof of right to work documentation
• Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID
• Proof of address documentation
• Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en ).

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

• Professional Qualification - Registered General Nurse (Essential)
• Willing to evidence & participate in appropriate continual professional development

Experience

• Understanding and or experience secure environments (prisons or forensic services)
• Experience of substance misuse services
• Completion of preceptorship

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

• An ability to assess risk and care-plan effectively
• An understanding of the 1983 Mental Health Act and subsequent mental health legislation as they pertain to nursing
• Ability to present information both written and oral form and communicate this effectively

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process. We also discourage overuse of AI during the application process because this can negatively impact the quality of your application and may hinder your chances of being shortlisted. Thank you.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Name Clare Denny Job title Recruitment and Retention Resourcing Officer Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07504877653