South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
Clinical Nurse Specialist - Physical Health
The closing date is 15 November 2026

Job summary
Make a visible difference across Crocus and Jasmines wards in this four-month fixed-term role. You will lead specialist physical healthcare, support the early recognition of deterioration, strengthen frailty care and help reduce avoidable hospital transfers and delays to discharge.

We are seeking an experienced registered nurse with strong assessment, clinical reasoning and leadership skills. Join a supportive, values-led Trust where you can improve patient outcomes, develop ward teams and deliver lasting service improvements. You will be compassionate, proactive and collaborative, with the confidence to provide expert advice, influence practice and lead meaningful improvement across two inpatient services.

Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:
We are committed to getting the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties.

Flexible working:
To be discussed at the interview.
We are proud to offer agile and flexible working opportunities as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work.
Monday to Friday in the time frames from 09:00 to 17:00hrs, giving you the very best of good work life balance.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist physical health assessment and care across Crocus and Jasmines wards.
• Identify, manage and escalate physical deterioration using clinical assessment, NEWS2 and professional judgement.
• Support frailty care, long-term condition management and prevention of falls, delirium and deconditioning.
• Deliver clinical interventions, including ECGs, venepuncture, wound care and emergency response, within competence.
• Work with multidisciplinary teams to reduce avoidable hospital transfers and physical health-related discharge delays.
• Provide expert advice, training and clinical leadership to strengthen staff capability and practice.
• Lead audits, monitor physical health standards and deliver quality improvement initiatives.
• Maintain accurate records and practise in line with professional standards and Trust policies.

About us
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

Details
Date posted: 06 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £58,133 to £65,261 a year per annum inclusive of inner London of HCAS
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 4 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 294-MHCA-8381274-EB-A
Job locations: Springfield University Hospital, 15 Springfield Drive, London, SW17 0YF, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities

• To undertake autonomous specialist assessment and treatment of patients physical health across 2 wards including service development.
• To lead on the identification and management of physical deterioration through systematic use of NEWS2, clinical examination and professional judgement, ensuring timely escalation and intervention.
• To support ward teams to manage physical health conditions safely within the mental health inpatient environment where clinically appropriate, reducing avoidable transfers to acute hospitals.
• To promote best practice in frailty care including falls prevention, delirium management, polypharmacy awareness, nutrition and hydration, mobility promotion and prevention of deconditioning.
• Undertake frailty screening of all patients.
• Contribute to multifactorial falls assessment and make recommendations for falls prevention.
• Work closely with MDT including dietitian and SALT to optimise nutrition and hydration.
• Work closely with Physiotherapists to promote decondition prevention.
• Including providing direct clinical care to patients using established clinical guidelines, including consulting with and referring patients to medical specialists and other health / social care professionals as indicated.
• To confidently undertake medical histories, perform head-to-toe physical examinations, analyse and formulate differential diagnoses and/or evaluate treatment effectiveness.
• To fully document all aspects of a patients, care and complete all required documentation for legal and administrative purposes.
• Provide accurate clinical advice and instructions to nursing and other health professionals as required.
• To confer regularly with ward consultants and nursing staff, refer specific patients, plan and coordinate activities, exchange information, investigate and resolve problems.
• In emergency situations, administer basic life support, ILS and medications pending availability of doctor.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications
If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.
Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.
Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

Person Specification
Training & Qualification
Essential

• Registered Nurse (Adult or Mental Health) with current NMC registration.
• Degree level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
• Venepuncture trained.
• Evidence of continued professional development.
• Significant post-registration experience at Band 6 or above.

Desirable

• Experience within a general medical/surgical setting or GP practice.
• Knowledge of CGA principles.
• Knowledge of proactive and anticipatory care models.

Experience
Essential

• Experience and knowledge in the management of long-term conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience of assessing and managing physical health crisis with those with a severe mental illness or enduring physical health issues.

Desirable

• Delivery of patient care to reflect and refer to Evidence Based Practice.
• Experience of contributing to policy and procedure development and implementation.

Knowledge & Skills
Essential

• An awareness and knowledge base of service provided by the Primary Care Mental Health Service for severe, enduring mental illness.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to assess clinical situations quickly and use initiative.
• Good time management skills and ability to prioritise.
• Effective team worker.

Desirable

• Delivery of CQUIN.
• Group facilitation skills.
• Research and audit skills.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
Address: Springfield University Hospital, 15 Springfield Drive, London, SW17 0YF, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Clinical Manager Adeshina Abdulsalam, Adeshina.Abdulsalam@swlstg.nhs.uk

Supporting documents
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