Job Introduction
You will play a key role in helping people move safely out of hospital and into the next stage of their recovery.
Join our Patient Flow and Discharge team at Salisbury District Hospital, where you will play a key role in helping people move safely and confidently from hospital to the next stage of their care. You’ll use your clinical expertise to guide discharge planning, coordinate patient flow and support colleagues in delivering timely, person‑centred care across a busy seven‑day service.
This is a role where you can make a real difference every single day. You’ll work closely with wards, consultants, community teams, social care and voluntary agencies to ensure every patient is assessed holistically and discharged on the right pathway. If you enjoy fast-paced clinical environments, problem‑solving and working as part of a supportive multi‑disciplinary team, you’ll find your place here.
Great Western Hospital is located on the edge of Swindon with good transport links, an easy commute from towns like Marlborough, Chippenham and Cirencester, and quick access to the Cotswolds and North Wessex Downs for weekends outdoors.
Package Description
You’ll join a friendly, experienced and proactive discharge service that works collaboratively across the hospital and wider system. The team is supportive, solutions-focused and committed to improving patient experience, reducing delays and ensuring safe, well‑planned transitions of care.
As a Band 6 Discharge and Flow Clinician with HCRG Care Group, you’ll receive:
- NHS Agenda for Change Band 6 salary with an NHS pension
- Membership of My Reward Hub, giving you discounts on everyday purchases, plus cashback and voucher offers
- Access to your wages as you earn them
- Online and in-person wellbeing support, including mental health services, activity challenges, financial wellbeing tools, coaching and counselling
- Access to e-learning, bespoke career pathways and development opportunities through our Outstanding Learning Enterprise team
- An open, just culture with encouragement to share ideas, supported by ringfenced innovation funding each year
- The pride of working for an organisation where most rated services are Good or Outstanding with the CQC
Main Responsibilities
- Coordinate patient flow across acute wards to make sure every person is discharged on the right pathway.
- Complete holistic assessments that consider a patient’s medical, physical, social and emotional needs.
- Work with consultants, ward teams, community services, social care and voluntary agencies to remove delays and keep people moving safely through their discharge journey.
- Facilitate the smooth transfer of assessments, care plans and test results to the next care provider.
- Provide professional advice and guidance to colleagues and support day to day team operations.
- Manage complex cases using strong clinical reasoning, problem solving and knowledge of national guidance.
- Apply a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, safeguarding processes and Continuing Healthcare funding.
- Prioritise and review referrals so that discharges are clinically safe and well coordinated.
- Offer daily senior support to Band 4 colleagues, including supervision and performance oversight.
- Deputise for the Band 7 Lead when needed, including contributing to system calls.
- Support the front door admission avoidance service when the Band 7 Lead is not available.
- Contribute to service improvement, including reducing delays, supporting national and local targets and maintaining seven‑day service delivery.
- Ensure every patient’s dignity, privacy and choice are respected throughout their discharge planning.
Person Specification
Essential
- Registered clinician (RGN, AHP, Social Worker or equivalent)
- Experience in discharge planning or patient flow
- Ability to make autonomous clinical decisions around discharge pathways
- Strong communication, decision‑making and problem‑solving skills
- Ability to prioritise and work flexibly in a fast‑paced environment
- Experience working across health and social care boundaries
- Knowledge of the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act, Safeguarding and Information Governance
- Understanding of national hospital discharge guidance
- Confident in influencing others in clinical decision making
- Ability to have sensitive or difficult conversations with patients, families and staff
- Resilient, calm under pressure and able to consider the wider system
Desirable
- Experience of quality improvement work related to discharge planning
About the Company
We change lives by transforming health and care.
Established in 2006, we are one of the UK's leading independent providers of community health and care services, working with health and care commissioners and communities to transform services with a focus on experience, efficiency, and improved outcomes.
We deliver and transform adult and children community health services, primary care services including urgent care, sexual health, dermatology and MSK services as well as adult social care and wellbeing services. Across England, we support communities of many millions and directly help more than half a million people each year, guided by our simple values: we care, we think, we do.
We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from a broad, diverse range of people who want to join our team. We're a Disability Confident Committed company, so we work to provide facilities, work environment adjustments and technical solutions to be as inclusive of everyone.
While it doesn't happen often, sometimes a role is very popular and we'll need to close it earlier than the date we've shown here. If you're keen to join our team, we'd love to hear from you so please apply as soon as you can.
As you'd expect, safeguarding and protecting the children, young people and vulnerable adults that we work with is of the utmost importance so we have policies and procedures in place to promote safeguarding and safer working practices and everyone who joins the team is subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks.
