Registered Nurse/Paramedic in Reading

Are you looking for a career move that offers real variety, autonomy and professional challenge beyond traditional clinical settings? Mountain Healthcare is one of the UK’s leading providers of forensic custody healthcare. Working in partnership with the police and wider criminal justice agencies, we deliver high quality care to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. We are proud to be guided by our core values of Being Kind and Doing the Right Thing.

We are now recruiting Forensic Custody Healthcare Professionals (RGNs and Paramedics) to deliver specialist healthcare within police custody. This is a rare opportunity to step into a respected forensic role where no two shifts are the same; no custody experience is required as full accredited training is provided. Your clinical decisions will directly support detainee welfare, safeguarding, and the wider criminal justice process.

If you’re an experienced clinician with at least three years' experience in an acute setting who enjoys independent decision making, fast paced assessments, and meaningful work that genuinely makes a difference, this could be the ideal next step in your career.

As a Forensic Custody Healthcare Professional, you will provide autonomous clinical care within police custody suites, supporting detainees with a wide range of physical and mental health needs. You will assess fitness for detention and interview, respond to acute medical episodes, manage drug and alcohol related presentations, and support safeguarding decisions in a complex and highly rewarding environment.

This is not ward based nursing or ambulance work. It is a specialist role where you will apply your clinical expertise in a completely different setting, working closely with custody staff, police officers and partner agencies to ensure detainees are safely managed and receive appropriate care throughout the criminal justice process.

You will also be trained to undertake forensic and evidential duties, including the collection and preservation of forensic samples, injury documentation, and maintaining robust clinical records that support legal and professional standards.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting comprehensive clinical assessments to determine fitness for detention, interview, charge, and release, including capacity assessments.
• Managing medical emergencies, treating injuries, and providing healthcare advice in a fast-paced environment.
• Supporting detainees with mental health needs, substance misuse, alcohol dependency, and complex vulnerabilities.
• Collecting and documenting forensic samples in line with evidential and legal standards.
• Producing accurate clinical and evidential records, including injury documentation.
• Liaising with police, custody teams, NHS and other healthcare services to ensure appropriate onward care.
• Attending hospital blood procedures under the Road Traffic Act.
• Preparing professional statements and attending court as an impartial healthcare witness.

No prior forensic experience is required; full training and an externally accredited Introduction are provided. Flexible full-time and part-time opportunities are available within a supportive, values-driven clinical team. Full time employees are contracted to 42 hours a week and usually work a fixed shift pattern of two days, two nights, four rest days. Shifts are 12-hours: 06:45–19:00 and 18:45–07:00. Annualised hours contracts and part-time opportunities are also available, comprising a mix of day and night shifts. Weekend working is included within all contractual arrangements.

Why Join Mountain Healthcare

This is a rare opportunity to move into a specialist forensic healthcare career while continuing to use your clinical skills every day. You will be trusted to work autonomously, make high quality clinical decisions, and develop into a confident forensic practitioner.

What we offer:

• A joining bonus of £1500 (£750 paid after probation period and £750 paid after a year in the role)
• Recommend a friend £500
• NMC HCPC registration paid
• Access to company pension scheme
• Overtime at enhanced rates
• A supportive, values driven culture where professionalism and compassion are genuinely recognised
• A unique clinical environment where no two shifts are the same
• Exposure to specialist forensic skills including evidential documentation and forensic sampling
• Opportunities to progress within one of the UK’s most respected forensic healthcare providers
• Accredited forensic training and structured development.

To be successful in this role, you will need:

• To be a Registered General Nurse (RGN) or Paramedic with current NMC or HCPC registration
• A minimum of three years post qualification experience in an acute setting (e.g. frontline paramedic, A&E, Prison, Custody, Urgent Care)
• A full UK driving licence with less than 6 penalty points
• The ability to successfully complete enhanced DBS clearance and police vetting
• Full Right to work in the UK and have lived in the UK for a minimum of three years prior to application
• Strong assessment, communication and decision making skills, with confidence working autonomously
• A calm, professional and compassionate approach when working with vulnerable individuals, including those who may be distressed, intoxicated or experiencing acute mental health symptoms
• Willingness to complete accredited forensic training within the first year of employment