SW Critical Care Network Manager and Lead Nurse

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare institution is seeking an experienced critical care manager to join the South West Adult Critical Care Network. This key leadership role will focus on coordinating patient pathways across a wide area, ensuring equity of access to services, and improving health outcomes for critical care patients. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in operational service management and possess excellent people management skills. This is an opportunity to make a positive impact on critical care services in the region.

Benefits

Career development opportunities

Health and wellbeing support

Engagement in innovative practices

Qualifications

• Proven experience in operational and clinical service management.
• Capability in change management and people management.
• Strong leadership skills in healthcare settings.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for the South West Adult Critical Care Network.
• Oversee initiatives to improve access and equity for patients.
• Chair nursing forums at local, regional, and national levels.

Job description

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust. Click on this link to find out about our values https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/p/about-us/our-trust-values. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms that can be used to produce new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos. It is developing all the time and is now being used as a support mechanism for all kinds of content-based creations. Please note the use of AI is monitored and if applicants have used it then they are required to declare this.

An exciting and rare opportunity to provide leadership to the South West Adult Critical Care Network (SWCCN) and improve critical care outcomes, with a focus on coordinating patient pathways between providers over a wide area to ensure:

• equitable access to specialist resources and expertise,
• improving outcomes and quality standards and,
• evidence based networked patient pathways are agreed,
• efficient pathways of care which demonstrate value for money,
• sustainable and resilient services which are sufficiently resourced to respond to change.

Networks are a vehicle for specialty level collaboration between patients, providers, and commissioners and have clear lines of accountability with Integrated Care Systems, including providers and provider collaboratives, and to NHS England (NHSE) Regional Teams and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to ensure local ownership, alignment, and a local mandate to deliver national ACC priorities and objectives.

All networks have an important role in delivering the triple aim, supporting:

• better health and wellbeing of everyone,
• the quality of care for all patients, and
• the sustainable use of NHS resources, 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.

Adult Critical Care services are commissioned by both NHS England and Integrated Care Systems, the Network is responsible for supporting the monitoring and consistency of service delivery in line with the standards and indicators described in the service specification, irrespective of responsible commissioner; this includes the ability to benchmark and share ideas and information about the best ways to streamline patient care using more integrated approaches to the commissioning and delivery of services.

We are looking to recruit an experienced critical care manager to provide leadership to the Network alongside the Clinical Director as part of a multi‑disciplinary team, and a nurse lead who has demonstrable capability for operational /clinical service management including change management, people management & financial management to lead the planning and development of the annual work programme to ensure achievement of the network vision, aims and objectives across the whole patient pathway across critical care.

The post holder will oversee key deliverables and initiatives in relation to equity of access, experience, and health outcomes for patients within critical care services, acting as a critical partner and conduit for all clinicians and managerial leads across the South West region and beyond ensuring clear guidance and support to achieve meeting care standards for the delivery of safe and effective patient care.

The post holder will be responsible for overseeing ICNARC data across the Network and have a pivotal lead role in chairing nursing forums at the local, regional and national level. The post requires regular travel within the network.

Contact:

• Graham Brant (current postholder) <[email protected]>
• Donna Bowen (System Transformation Lead) for NHS England <[email protected]>
• Andy Georgiou, Clinical Director SWCCN and Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at RUH Bath <[email protected]>

Closing date – Friday 19th December 2025

Interviews – Wednesday 21st January 2026

Areas of responsibility and core functions:

• Service Delivery: the network’s role in planning and managing capacity and demand
• Resources: the network’s role in stewardship of resources across the whole pathway and minimising unwarranted variation
• Workforce: the network’s role in ensuring flexible, skilled resilient staffing
• Quality: the network’s role in improving quality, safety experience and outcome
• Collaboration: the network’s role in promoting working together at local, system and national level
• Transformation: the network’s role in planning sustainable services that meet the needs of all patients
• Population health: the network’s role in assessing need, improving health, reducing inequalities

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support – developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

By applying for this post, you are agreeing to University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e‑mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

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