Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our community team at Martlets Hospice in Brighton and Hove. This position is ideal for a senior nurse with extensive experience in caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses, who possesses proven expertise in holistic assessment, palliative symptom management, and advanced communication skills.

Main duties of the job

• Providing expert advice and care to patients and their families, both through scheduled face-to-face visits and telephone support
• Working as part of a supportive and integrated clinical team, covering Brighton and Hove and surrounding area
• Delivering specialist palliative care in collaboration with primary care network colleagues
• Sharing clinical responsibility for patients referred to the hospice, supported by our community manager and medical team

About us
Southern Hospice Group is the largest group of hospices in Sussex and one of the largest in the UK. We are committed to providing exceptional and compassionate care to adults, children and their families across Sussex. Bringing our teams and resources together as one organisation means we can focus on new and exciting visions and plans for our people and patients and provide even greater opportunities for our workforce.

St Barnabas House provides specialist palliative care to adults in the Worthing, Adur, Arun and Henfield areas through a range of services, including in-patient care and community living well services.

Chestnut Tree House is the childrens hospice for East and West Sussex and South East Hampshire, providing specialist palliative care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

Martlets provides essential care to people affected by terminal illness in Brighton and Hove and surrounding areas. Our expert teams provide the very best care and support, helping patients and their loved ones to live life to the full during the precious time they have together.

Details
Date posted: 19 October 2026
Salary: £48,751 to £54,661 a year
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: B0265-26-0042
Job locations: Wayfield Avenue, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 7LW, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• Provide expertise and advanced skills to facilitate and promote the individualised care of people with palliative and end of life care needs across Southern Hospice Group area.
• Assess, review, support and ensure the safe and effective case management of patients with complex palliative and end of life care needs across a variety of care settings within the community.
• Offer continuing support and advice to family and carers and provide palliative and end of life care nursing advice to colleagues in both primary and secondary care settings.
• Link with staff across all providers to promote fully integrated team working.
• Participate in the promotion of patient-centred care, establishing and maintaining a supportive relationship with the patient and their family.
• Advocate for people as they approach their end of life, ensuring that their voice is heard by the promotion and support of advance care planning.
• Ensure that care is planned around the patient and family and individualised to meet the complexity of need.
• Receive and lead handover of patient information and status with relevant colleagues, to ensure that a seamless service is experienced by patients and their families.
• Provide support, information and advice to the patients diagnosed with advanced progressive diseases and their families to enable them to realise and maintain their potential and adjust their lives if necessary.
• Support the patient in identifying realistic and achievable goals within the context of their overall care plan which may involve referral to other services based on identified need.
• Provide an environment that encourages the patient to play an active part in their care enabling them to voice their wishes about current and future care.
• Act as an advocate for the patient when necessary.
• Participate in bereavement support when appropriate.
• Participate fully as a member of the Multi-Disciplinary Team.
• Attend Gold Standard Framework (GSF) meetings.
• Lead, engage and empower other staff and provide a range of formal and informal learning opportunities.
• Support the development of team members through induction, appraisals and identification of appropriate training.
• Deliver agreed targets, plan and hold regular meetings to inform, update and to promote coaching and team development.
• Carry out audits on all areas to maintain standards, which include spot checks in areas of work and embed changes for own work and others.
• Utilise Information Technology and ensure guidelines are followed when sharing information.
• Maintain a high professional standard in accordance with NMC Code of Professional Conduct.
• If registered as a non-medical independent prescriber, prescribe in accordance with National, NMC and Southern Hospice Group guidelines and within the limits of their individual competence. Nonmedical prescribers will attend Southern Hospice Group Nurse Independent Prescribers meetings and maintain regular clinical supervision with their allocated NIP mentor.
• Attend and be a member of the relevant quality and/or health and safety forums and other relevant meetings.
• Access managerial support and supervision.
• Work in accordance with Southern Hospice Group policies, procedures and values.
• Contribute to a range of policy developments, governance and service improvements.
• Work flexibly, contributing to improved ways of working and the development of the service.
• Manage longer term initiatives and improvement projects, as required.
• Engage technology and optimise ways of working to improve efficiency.
• Actively contribute to team and individual development, embracing opportunities to review the service and build team resilience and capability.
• Ensure positive representation in all interactions, working in partnership with other providers to foster culture of lessons learnt from adverse events and enhance role Southern Hospice Group can play to benefit patient safety and patient user experience.
• Promote a culture which respects and values diversity and supports patients, visitors and staff in exercising their rights and recognising needs of diverse patient groups.
• Ensure care within practice is consistent with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Identify and report patterns of discrimination which undermine the quality and diversity in accordance with organisational policies and current legislation.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of Southern Hospice Group education programmes, enabling Southern Hospice Group to be the Palliative Care educator of choice.
• Effectively and safely use financial and physical resources.
• Retain accurate, contemporaneous records that ensures safety, continuity of patient care in a manner that reflects Southern Hospice Group policy and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards for Record Keeping.

Person Specification
Experience (Essential)

• Advanced Communication skills training or equivalent experience dealing with bad news. Complex casework and collaborating with others.
• Significant post registration and specialist palliative care experience is essential for this role within a charity/hospice/hospital or community setting.
• Experience of working in a community environment. Experience of managing a caseload of patients independently and managing a diverse caseload.
• Management experience including staff and budgets. Experience of leading on service development projects. Experience in providing multi professional education.

Qualifications (Essential)

• Registered Nurse. Degree in a subject relevant to palliative care or equivalent specialist palliative care experience in the community.
• Advanced Physical Assessment module or willingness to undertake. Independent Prescriber or willingness to undertake. Willingness to undertake further learning as appropriate.

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.

Employer details
Employer name: Southern Hospice Group
Employer's website: https://www.stbarnabas-hospice.org.uk/

For questions about the job, contact: John McDonald, hroperations@shg.org.uk, 01903706317

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