Clinical Nurse Specialist - Deteriorating Patients , Sepsis & AKI

An exciting opportunity has arisen at The Royal Marsden Hospital for a highly motivated and experienced nurse to join our team as a Clinical Nurse Specialist for Deteriorating Patients, Sepsis and AKI. This pivotal role will provide expert clinical leadership across the Trust, supporting the early identification, escalation and management of patients at risk of clinical deterioration. The post holder will work closely with the Lead Nurse and Practice Educator for Deteriorating Patients, Sepsis & AKI, the Critical Care Outreach Team, and multidisciplinary colleagues to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes.

The successful candidate will lead education, audit and quality improvement initiatives, ensuring compliance with national standards and Trust policies while supporting the implementation of Martha’s Rule. You will act as an expert clinical resource, promoting best practice in the recognition and management of sepsis, acute kidney injury and deteriorating patients. This role offers an excellent opportunity to contribute to Trust-wide patient safety priorities, influence practice and drive continuous improvement within a world-leading specialist cancer centre.

Please Note: This is a fixed-term post funded through short-term funding. As recruitment processes is a part of the funding period, the contract may be for less than 12 months.

This role focuses on the identification, escalation, and management of patients experiencing clinical deterioration, including those diagnosed with sepsis and acute kidney injury (AKI). The CNS will offer expert guidance and support to staff in assessing and managing deteriorating patients, specifically those affected by sepsis and AKI. This includes acting as a resource for the clinical teams and collaborating closely with the Lead Nurse and Practice Educator for Deteriorating Patient, Sepsis & AKI, the Outreach service, and medical teams.

The post holder is responsible for driving educational initiatives, conducting audits, and leading quality improvement projects to ensure adherence to both national and Trust standards of practice. A key aspect of this role involves supporting the Trust’s patient safety agenda and facilitating the implementation of component three of Martha’s Rule, in alignment with the NHSE national initiative.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist will work in partnership with other healthcare professionals to promote best clinical practices for the recognition, treatment, and care of deteriorating patients, including those with AKI and/or Sepsis. By working collaboratively with colleagues, the post holder will help create a dynamic and supportive working environment. This ensures the service operates efficiently and effectively, contributing to the achievement of both national and local performance standards within the designated timeframe.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do. At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification. Provide expert leadership and support in the management of deteriorating patients throughout the Trust, with a strong focus on Martha’s rule, sepsis identification, management and AKI prevention and management. Develop and implement Trust-wide policies and procedures for the early recognition and management of clinical deterioration, ensuring alignment with national best practice guidelines. Ensuring timely recognition and intervention for patients at risk of deterioration in all settings. Raise awareness of NEWS2, PEWS, AKI, and Sepsis among all clinical groups, patients, and carers. Ensure that the data is relevant and supports quality improvement and learning within the organisation. To feedback to appropriate stakeholders on the results/trends of audits and measurements for improvement to Trust Committees.

Education/Qualifications

• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Nurse mentorship or recognised teaching qualification

Experience

• Extensive experience in Acute or critical Care (Band 6/7) including assessing and managing deteriorating patients
• Experience of working within the oncology setting
• Experience of the audit process, able to measure progress against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking data
• Clear understanding of NHS key quality indicators and CQUIN targets and NHS improvements
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Good analytical/critical appraisal and deductive reasoning skills.
• Experience in developing and implementing reporting systems based on Electronic Patient Records

Skills Abilities/knowledge

• Evidence of good leadership and communication skills, including delegation and co-ordination of teams
• Ability to interpret and relay complex data in line with national policies and reporting requirements
• Evidence of good management practices
• Evidence of involvement/leading in Quality Improvement project
• Ability to innovate and respond to change
• Ability to interpret and implement new policies into workplace procedures
• Evidence of commitment to patient & carer involvement in care
• Knowledge of clinical governance issues and risk management strategies
• Ability to make decisions, organise & prioritise
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to liaise effectively with multi-disciplinary team members
• Experience and ability to manage conflict situations
• Evidence of good understanding of NHS plans and cancer network working
• Computer literacy in Excel, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

Other Requirements

• Ability to work clinical shifts as required

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application. All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff
At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease. The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

Employer certification / accreditation badges You must have appropriate UK professional registration. 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.