District Nurse

This District Nurse post sits within West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust's Integrated Neighbourhood Teams. It combines leadership of community nursing with assessment and care for patients with complex needs. Other locality teams may have full- or part-time, fixed-term or substantive opportunities. The post requires NMC registration and a District Nursing qualification; frequent travel is required, with a full driving licence and personal transport or another suitable mobility arrangement.

What the job involves

• Lead and manage the District Nursing service in the locality, providing clinical and supervisory support to junior staff and students
• Manage a caseload of patients with complex needs, using evidence-based practice to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care
• Holistically assess patients and provide appropriate clinical treatments using advanced skills and expert knowledge
• Develop and deliver individualised specialist nursing care programmes, then evaluate interventions and adapt care plans
• Promote self-care and independence through health coaching, education, training and advice
• Work with patients, families, carers and other services to prevent avoidable hospital admissions and support discharges
• Oversee referral triage and coordinate day-to-day service planning, prioritising clinical needs and delegating work
• Ensure team care meets national, professional and local standards
• Lead locality service development and work with colleagues to monitor care quality and improve services
• Support staff to work confidently across organisational and professional boundaries
• Report nursing capacity through the escalation process and prescribe independently for own caseload within competence and role requirements
• Locality opportunities include Haverhill, Sudbury, Newmarket, Bury Town, Bury Rural and Mildenhall; frequent travel is required

What’s required

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse Level 1 and District Nurse qualification
• Non-medical prescribing qualification
• Preparation for mentorship and teaching, learning and assessing qualifications
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Registration & licences

• NMC registration

Experience

• Experience leading a District Nursing team
• Experience managing complex patients and cases, sharing knowledge and skills with locality and community nurses
• Advanced clinical assessment skills, including history-taking and physical examination
• Experience working autonomously and with people with long-term conditions
• Understanding local and national priorities for long-term conditions, nursing and integration
• Ability to direct and coordinate care programmes collaboratively and autonomously

Skills & knowledge

• Work unsupervised, manage people and work across organisational and budgetary boundaries within a locality
• Work in integrated teams and with Alliance partners to provide seamless care, uphold high standards and develop services
• Implement change for high-quality outcomes, communicate complex situations effectively, and use health coaching or be willing to learn

Checks & eligibility

• Frequent travel; full current driving licence and access to personal transport, or another reasonable and suitable way to meet the role's mobility requirements

Other

• Role-model positive behaviours and demonstrate the Trust values

Nice to have

• District Nursing qualification at Master's level
• Leadership qualification
• Tissue viability or leg ulcer management training
• V300 non-medical prescribing qualification
• Teaching, learning and assessing at Level 7 or PGCE
• Community team management and interview or recruitment experience
• Knowledge of the Health and Social Care Act
• Cannulation or IV therapy administration and coaching skills

What’s offered

• Comprehensive induction and training
• Development opportunities