Job Introduction
Are you a passionate Respiratory Nurse looking to develop your specialist skills within a supportive and experienced team?
We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Respiratory Specialist Nurse to join our established North Kent Respiratory Service.
This developmental role is ideal for a nurse with experience caring for patients with respiratory conditions who is looking to further develop their expertise within a specialist community service. Working alongside experienced Respiratory Specialist Nurses and Community Matrons, you'll receive structured support, mentorship and opportunities for ongoing professional development.
You'll play a key role in supporting patients living with conditions such as COPD, Bronchiectasis and Interstitial Lung Disease, helping them better understand and manage their respiratory health while reducing avoidable hospital admissions and improving quality of life.
The role combines specialist clinical practice, patient education, health promotion and collaborative working across primary, community and secondary care services. You'll have the opportunity to run nurse-led clinics, undertake home visits and support patients receiving home oxygen therapy as part of a highly regarded community respiratory service.
Our service operates Monday to Friday, with working hours between 8am-4pm or 9am-5pm, with no weekends or bank holidays. A laptop is provided to support agile and flexible working.
Package Description
As a Respiratory Specialist Nurse, you'll be part of our valued Respiratory Service based in Sittingbourne, helping people with long-term respiratory conditions live well, manage their symptoms and remain independent within the community.
You will feel valued as a Respiratory Specialist Nurse within HCRG Care Group, receiving access to exclusive rewards and benefits including:
- Band 6 salary with NHS Pension and full Agenda for Change terms and conditions
- Plentiful on-site parking
- Membership of My Reward Hub, giving you access to discounts on everyday purchases like grocery shopping, as well as cashback and voucher offers for treats for you and those special to you
- Access to your wages as you earn them to help cover life's emergencies and avoid overdraft fees or high interest rates
- Online and face-to-face help with your mental and physical wellbeing, from healthy recipes and activity challenges through to post-trauma support, legal, debt and life management help, career coaching and counselling
- Access to eLearning, bespoke career pathways and opportunities for continuing professional development through our 'Outstanding' learning and development team, The Learning Enterprise
- An open, just culture where you're encouraged to have and implement ideas which can help us deliver our purpose: changing lives through transforming health and care
Main Responsibilities
As a Respiratory Specialist Nurse, you will:
- Manage a caseload of patients with complex respiratory conditions within the community
- Undertake comprehensive respiratory assessments and develop personalised treatment and management plans
- Deliver nurse-led respiratory clinics and home visits
- Support and assess patients receiving home oxygen therapy
- Monitor patients with chronic respiratory conditions and provide proactive interventions to prevent deterioration
- Work closely with GPs, hospital respiratory teams, community services and other healthcare professionals to ensure joined-up care
- Provide education, advice and self-management support to patients, families and carers
- Promote healthy lifestyle choices and support interventions such as smoking cessation and pulmonary rehabilitation
- Identify patients at risk of hospital admission and provide early intervention where appropriate
- Participate in the delivery of specialist respiratory education and training to colleagues and partner organisations
- Support quality improvement initiatives, service development and clinical governance activities
- Maintain accurate clinical records and contribute to service performance and outcome monitoring
- Act as a specialist respiratory resource for colleagues across community and primary care services
The Ideal Candidate
We're looking for a motivated and enthusiastic nurse who is passionate about respiratory care and committed to delivering excellent patient outcomes within the community.
You will have:
- Current NMC registration as a Registered Nurse
- A minimum of 2 years' post-registration experience working at Band 5 level or equivalent
- Experience caring for patients with respiratory conditions
- Advanced clinical assessment skills
- Evidence of continuing professional development within respiratory care
- Strong understanding of respiratory conditions, including COPD, Bronchiectasis and Interstitial Lung Disease
- Knowledge of oxygen therapy and respiratory management
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Strong clinical decision-making and problem-solving abilities
- Good organisational and caseload-management skills
- Confident IT skills and experience maintaining electronic patient records
- The ability to work independently while contributing effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team
- A proactive approach to patient education, health promotion and service improvement
Experience within community services, respiratory specialist nursing, pulmonary rehabilitation or oxygen assessment services would be advantageous, as would additional qualifications relating to respiratory care.
Due to the community nature of this role, you must be able to travel across the locality and therefore hold a full UK driving licence and have access to a vehicle for work purposes.
