Job summary
- Main area
- Addictions
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 6 months (secondment with line managers support would be considered)
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 153-ME04766
- Employer
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Poole Hospital
- Town
- Poole
- Salary
- £46,148 - £52,809 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Lead Specialist Addiction Nurse (Assertive Outreach Addiction Team)
NHS AfC: Band 7
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £250m estates programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.
Job overview
University Hospitals Dorset has a proven track record in delivering care and treatment to patients presenting with alcohol attributable admissions and attendances, including its award-winning Assertive Outreach Alcohol Team linked to the trusts Addiction Care & Treatment Services (ACTS).
we are seeking to appoint an experienced lead specialist addiction nurse to provide leadership to our established community based Assertive Outreach Alcohol Team
The post holder will be required to be a registered nurse (mental health and/or adult) with an independent prescribing qualification (or willingness to undertake) and clinical experience working in a specialist alcohol (or substance misuse) service in a hospital and/or community setting.
You would be working as part of a healthcare team with a mixture of psychosocial and clinical interventions. There are many opportunities to develop new skills and this role is ideal for an experienced nurse seeking to broaden their knowledge and understanding of caring for high-risk adults often with complex needs who experience high intensity use of urgent and emergency care pathways.
Main duties of the job
The purpose of the Lead Specialist Addiction Nurse (Assertive Outreach Addiction Team) role is to be highly visible, provide effective, and accessible leadership to members of the ACTS Assertive Outreach Addiction Team, thereby ensuring the highest standards of patient care and evidenced based practice are delivered at all times. Responsible to the Head of Addiction Services, the role is to lead and contribute to the development of the core clinical team establishment and is responsible for the independent delivery of high-quality safe nursing care and good people management within a community setting. The post holder is expected to ensure responsibility of safe system of referral, treatment and eventual discharge of patients.
Cross cover will be provided for the Lead Specialist Addiction Nurse (in-patient alcohol and drug) posts across both UHD sites to ensure adequate and safe leadership when required.
Working for our organisation
Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues.
UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme.
This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions at interview.
Please note if a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under relevant Trust or national terms and conditions.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see linked job description and personal specification.
The post holder will be an integral member of the service’s senior leadership team.
Informal enquires are encouraged to [email protected]
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- registered nurse
- Independent prescriber
Desirable criteria
- • Post graduate diploma/degree or equivalent qualification in Alcohol and Substance Misuse
Experience
Essential criteria
- • Assessment and management of problematic alcohol (& drug) users
- • Risk assessment / management
- • Managing staff
Desirable criteria
- • Audit and research
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use de-escalation techniques effectively.
- • Knowledge of mental health disorders as well as their relationship to physical disorders, or vice versa.
- • Communication skills to give and receive complex clinical details with patients, carers and colleagues in sensitive, potentially hostile situations.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Graeme White
- Job title
- Head of Addiction Services
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 0192871
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