Substance Misuse Service Bank Nurse

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Maidstone; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS healthcare provider in the UK seeks dedicated Substance Misuse Service Nurses to deliver specialised care to prisoners experiencing substance misuse and related health issues. Responsibilities include assessment, care planning, staff supervision, and close collaboration with healthcare teams. Candidates should possess a nursing qualification and have experience in substance misuse services. This role is critical in ensuring high-quality healthcare within the prison system.

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with experience in substance misuse services.
• Ability to manage complex caseloads.
• Experience in conducting assessments and care planning.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialised assessment and clinical care to prisoners.
• Manage immediate risks and develop recovery plans.
• Supervise and mentor junior staff.
• Collaborate with healthcare teams to ensure continuity of care.

Skills

Clinical assessment

Referral management

Risk assessment

Communication skills

Harm minimization

Education

Nursing qualification

Job description

We are looking for dedicated Substance Misuse Service Nurses to cover bank shifts providing specialised assessment and clinical care to prisoners with identified substance misuse / dependency and related physical health issues in prison. Working closely with wider healthcare and prison departments to manage immediate risks and develop person centred collaboratively agreed recovery plan objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Referral management, screening assessment, triage, and evidence‑based interventions
• Care planning and risk assessment
• One‑to‑one and group‑work facilitation
• Managing a mixed and challenging caseload
• Providing appropriate, pragmatic harm minimisation advice to patients
• Providing drug, alcohol and holistic health education to patients and colleagues

Leadership

• Provide supervision to junior staff and receive supervision as directed (line management and clinical)
• Take on a specialist lead role within the Integrated Substance Misuse Service and provide peer support and training in this area
• Contribute towards support, advice, consultation, and training for other prison departments
• Provide supervision, mentorship & leadership for junior staff

Clinical

• Complete comprehensive clinical assessment, develop immediate risk management and safety planning, and initiate recovery planning for all prisoners arriving with identified substance misuse needs
• Identify and address safeguarding concerns for patients and their families at the point of arrival into HMPPS
• Assist in the clinical oversight of new arrivals over the first five days in prison
• Recognise withdrawal or sedation indicators and request appropriate clinical interventions (e.g., Opiate Replacement Therapy, alcohol detoxification, benzodiazepine detoxification)
• Provide harm minimisation and health education advice, including training on the administration of naloxone
• Deliver evidence‑based specialised clinical care for alcohol and substance dependency and signpost for co‑morbid conditions
• Ensure patients’ needs are addressed effectively and in a timely manner, providing care equivalent to or better than community services
• Participate in and coordinate joint and collaborative care planning for patients with complex needs, including specialized services and release planning
• Perform robust assessment, screening, and interventions to offenders with a learning disability
• Deliver specialist drug, alcohol and holistic healthcare activities under the direction of the clinical lead
• Work in a psychologically minded way with prisoners to achieve agreed goals and quality health outcomes
• Maintain a single referral pathway within multidisciplinary teams comprising all healthcare staff
• Collaborate with Psychosocial Recovery Workers to develop holistic care plans
• Contribute positively to integrated clinical governance arrangements
• Undertake training to maximise screening, health promotion and prevention activity (e.g., vaccinations)
• Ensure individualised care is reviewed regularly and an integrated care plan is developed for each patient
• Ensure comprehensive risk assessments and care plans are reviewed in a needs‑led cycle
• Support patients to manage their health at every stage, from oral health to long‑term conditions
• Embed health promotion into every aspect of the service
• Participate in supervision and continued professional development
• Maintain comprehensive and timely electronic clinical records ensuring confidentiality
• Participate in annual appraisal reviews and demonstrate reflective practice through the Knowledge and Skills Framework

Research & Audit

• Carry out administrative tasks, research, audit, data and activity statistics as directed

Communication

• Work closely with community drug and alcohol services and other agencies to ensure appropriate sharing of information and continuity of pharmacotherapy and psychosocial care for prisoners
• Provide comprehensive and timely reports and expert substance use/treatment information to multi‑agency panels (MAPPA), police, probation services, solicitors and court liaison teams as directed
• Maintain close working relationships with all prison staff and partners to improve patient care outcomes, including sentence planning, resettlement and community support processes
• Communicate effectively on complex issues and across organisational boundaries
• Adhere to relevant health and safety policies
• Understand and resolve inter‑agency issues that arise across organisational boundaries

Custodial Responsibilities

• Assume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys
• Comply with prison orders, procedures and instructions in your area of work
• Respond to any situation or circumstance that might threaten security or safety, completing required incident and security reports
• Report breaches of order and discipline, including recording untoward incidents according to local protocol
• Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. 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. 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.

Location Details

• HMP Elmley Isle of Sheppey 'B' Remand – 1,200 (male) 24/7 including Inpatient Unit
• HMP Swaleside 'B' High Security – 1,200 (male)
• HMP Stanford Hill 'D' Open – 500 (male) Standard
• HMP Rochester/HMP Cookham Wood Rochester 'C' – 650 (male) 24/7
• HMP Maidstone Maidstone 'C' – 500 (male) 24/7
• HMP East Sutton Park 'D' Open – 100 (female) Standard

About Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings including district nursing, speech and language therapy, care for learning disabilities, and mental health services. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and work in close partnership with the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector. We operate over 125 sites across South England, including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals and community venues. We are the largest provider of prison health services in the region, delivering high‑quality care and striving to improve lives for patients and their families.

Our Values

• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care