Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the tissue viability service at St George's University Hospitals Foundation Trust which is part of the gesh group. We are looking for an experienced and dynamic Nurse with a proven track record within tissue viability and pressure ulcer prevention. The post holder will have existing enhanced wound care and assessment skills and be able to evidence leadership and improvement experience.

St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group (gesh) cares for a population of four million people in South-west London and North-east Surrey.

St George's Hospital is one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area. It has 2 sites; the main hospital in Tooting, London and the other in Roehampton. The Tooting site is the base location for this role.

St George's serves a diverse range of patients with complex wounds, providing a wide range of speciality medical and surgical services that the tissue viability team work collaborate with. In particular, the teams work closely with plastics, dermatology, lympoedema and vascular.

The successful candidate will join an existing team of 2 nurses, and lead on tissue viability and pressure ulcer prevention at the Trust with support from the Group Associate Director, Fundamentals of Care. The main duties will focus on expert clinical advice and patient care, pressure ulcer governance, education and line management.

Main duties of the job
The post holder will be an expert resource, responsible for providing specialist nursing assessments, evidenced-based intervention and advice and support to staff caring for patients who are at risk of or have a pressure ulcer and/or have complex wound.

The Tissue Viability Clinical Nurse Specialist will play an integral role in the development of innovative practice for Tissue Viability in the organisation with a focus on pressure ulcer prevention. They will help to promote and co-ordinate seamless patient care pathways, develop and implement Trust wide improvement and change projects that enhance patient safety and lead on pressure ulcer and tissue viability governance and education.

Central to this role will be a collaborative approach with the MDT providing a comprehensive patient focused service. The role is as the tissue viability service and pressure ulcer prevention lead and therefore involves line management and service development responsibilities.

The post holder will work independently and have existing advanced skills in wound assessment and treatment, they will have a proven track record in leadership and be able to evidence where they have been integral to positive change within a clinical service.

Applicants must be able to provide evidence of a minimum of two years' experience working at Band 7 (or equivalent)

About us
St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).

After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.

At gesh we are committed to supporting flexible working arrangements. Applicants are encouraged to discuss any flexibility they may need during the recruitment process.

Job responsibilities
Please see the attached supporting document which contains more information about the role

We welcome anyone with creative ideas about providing quality care and patient focused services. Additional personal and professional development opportunities are offered by the Trust.

Person Specification
Training/ qualifications

• NMC registered
• Masters qualification
• Enhanced tissue viability related course
• Leadership course or relevant experience

Desirable

• Training qualification
• Improvement course or qualification
• Independent Prescribing

Knowledge and Experience

• Demonstrate a broad range of clinical experience with a significant proportion of this relating to Tissue Viability/ Wound management
• Experience of working in acute and primary care settings
• Have a broad knowledge and understanding of a wide range of specialist pressure reducing equipment and care
• Role model with a significant level of autonomy and accountability.
• Ability to influence outcomes and engage in service change & development.
• Experience of developing and implementing policies and protocols.
• Able to demonstrate ability to deliver training and education to patients and staff
• Computer literacy with a range of software, databases, spread sheets.
• Experience in management/ leadership

Desirable

• Evidence of publication, presentation and conference skills
• Experience of report writing and data synthesis/ thematic analysis
• Evidence of working with and influencing senior colleagues
• Evidence of Trust wide change and/ or improvement

Personal attributes

• Passion for tissue viability and pressure ulcer prevention
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Promotes the building of effective teams and collaboration between teams.
• Effective time management skills and ability to prioritise workload as referrals are received. Demonstrates patient advocacy.

Desirable

• Ability to influence change

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.

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

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Group Associate Director, Fundamentals of Care, Laura Wells, laura.wells1@stgeorges.nhs.uk, 07350452633