Job summary
- Main area
- Palliative Care
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 391-NMUH-7782601
- Employer
- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- North Middlesex University Hospital
- Town
- Edmonton
- Salary
- £53,751 - £60,651 per annum inclusive of Outer HCAs
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 27/03/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist
Band 7
Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.
Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of technology that can perform various tasks that typically required human intelligence. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey. Further guidance can be found in the NLPSS Applicant Toolkit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.
Click here to view our video Welcome to the Royal Free
Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 7 CNS to work within our highly skilled, motivated and dynamic team. We aim to make a difference and improve the experience of palliative care patients at various stages of their disease trajectory.
The post will be based within the existing inpatient Palliative Care Team. We offer 7 day face to face support to ensure that people with specialist palliative care needs, will receive the best quality care. The team currently consists of 4 palliative consultants’ equivalent to 2.5 WTE, 1 Band 8a Lead Nurse, 4 WTE Band 7 CNS, 1 WTE band 6 Associate CNS, 1 WTE Band 7 Palliative Care Discharge Coordinator.
The Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is a specialist clinician with extensive experience and knowledge of caring for patients with advanced life threatening illness. The CNS contributes to the provision of the palliative care service in the acute setting as part of the MDT, working collaboratively with colleagues, patients, carers, other health and social care professionals, statutory, voluntary and independent organisations to ensure optimum patient management.
Main duties of the job
As a senior nurse, the CNS will be expected to:
- manage a caseload autonomously and provide expert advice and support to patients with life limiting illness and potentially facing end of life care issues, and support them and their families, using advanced clinical judgement and knowledge in palliative care.
- participate in providing a 7-day face-to-face service.
- contribute to the weekly Hospital Palliative Care MDT meeting.
- design and deliver specialist palliative care education, as well as end of life care to colleagues and other health and social care professionals.
- take part in regular palliative care team audits and review of clinical practice, to develop research skills and contribute to the development of multi-disciplinary research within palliative care.
- act as a resource, educator and advocate for patients, their carers and healthcare professionals.
- work within statutory legislation and local policies and procedures in relation to palliative care and end of life care.
Working for our organisation
North Mid is part of North Central London integrated care system – consisting of the NHS and Local authority organisations in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. As with other ICS’s, we are working increasingly closely with partners and indeed many of our financial and performance objectives are measured at this system level. Whilst all organisations remain as standalone, statutory bodies we have an ICS infrastructure for making shared decisions and agreeing shared approaches.
We are proud of our staff and want to ensure their training allows them to provide excellent clinical care. We are also a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George’s University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.
Take a tour of our hospital here
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Acts as a resource of clinical excellence in the speciality of palliative care nursing, and ensure that national and local policies are implemented and followed.
2. Assess, plan, implement and evaluate holistic patient care based on sound rationale and evidence-based practice to influence and implement treatment.
3. Work autonomously demonstrating ability to manage clinical caseload ensuring it reflects the core components of the Clinical Nurse Specialist role.
4. Using advanced communication skills, advise and empower other professionals who are directly involved in the delivery of palliative care.
5. Participate in the triage processes and standards of response to new referrals and taking part in the daily allocations.
6. Maintain and be responsible for electronic and written records in line with the organisational guidelines.
7. Offer skilled emotional and psycho-social support and refer on to other members of the multidisciplinary team as appropriate.
8. Participate in the weekend face to face on call rota and work within a flexible approach that is responsive to patient/client need.
9. Ensure symptoms are optimally managed and anticipatory prescribing needs are identified to provide for imminent changes in condition.
10. Offer bereavement support to patient and families, identifying those at risk of complicated bereavement
11. Recognise and take appropriate action in issues related to Mental Capacity Act and Safeguarding
12. Be able to mobilise other services to contribute to patient care; working closely with the multidisciplinary team to enable best care and a shared understanding of the patient’s needs
13. Develop and maintain close working relationships with all statutory and/or voluntary agencies
14. Promotes evidence based practice with measurable standards and outcomes through the process of audit and benchmarking
15. Partakes in Clinical Discussion Groups/Clinical supervision as provided
16. Participates actively in the delivery of education on Palliative and End of Life Care across the Group
17. Use the extended role as a non-medical prescriber, where appropriate and once authorised, adhering to the Royal Pharmaceutical Societies and by the NMC standards.To audit prescribing practice and ensure prescribing pads are stored safely.
Person specification
Education & Professional Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree in Nursing
- Registered Nurse (RNA)
- Evidence of CPD through maintenance of a portfolio
- Teaching qualification
- Masters Degree in related subject or willing to study this
Desirable criteria
- Physical assessment course
- Advanced Communication skills course
- Non-Medical Prescriber
Others
Essential criteria
- Commitment and adherence to the Equality ACT
- Computer literacy
Desirable criteria
- Car owner / driver
Skills and aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Skills and knowledge in general palliative care
- Ability to cope with stress/work under pressure
- Ability to manage and prioritise own work load
- Excellent organisational skills
- People management skills/abilities
- Ability to communicate clearly, effectively and sensitively
Desirable criteria
- Up to date knowledge of the speciality of palliative care and its treatments
- Ability to implement new practices and initiatives
- Problem solver
Experience
Essential criteria
- Palliative care experience in relevant field
- Knowledge/understanding of confidentiality issues
- Working in the healthcare sector with relevant oncology /Palliative care or other relevant experience
- Understanding of the palliative patient, family and carers issues and their role in service development
- Experience in working across a variety of settings
Desirable criteria
- Teaching/educating nurses, AHP’s and/or patients
Personal Qualities & attributes
Essential criteria
- Commitment to palliative and end of life care
- Flexible approach to work and able to work weekends
- Willingness to adapt to change for the benefit of patent and family care
- Reliabe, honest and trustworthy
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
- Rhona Cunningham
- Job title
- Lead Nurse Palliative Care
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07436038401
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
WHT
- Telephone
- If you have any queries, please contact NLPSS Recruitment Helpdesk tel. 020 3758 2060
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