University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. The Trust has many and varied career opportunities for you to choose from.

UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact.

Job overview

Start your journey in our Children’s services today and discover a rewarding career with benefits and progression pathways that enable you to be the very best you can be.

As a gifted Children’s nurse ready for a new challenge, we understand your value. That’s why we want you to join our vibrant team on Caterpillar ward at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (BRHC), in a Trust previously rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC, to help us deliver world-class care in a department that feels like a family.

Caterpillar is our paediatric medical ward. Here we predominantly care for children aged 0-12 years old with a wide variety of medical conditions. Covering 32 beds, 6 of these are placed within our recently converted state of the art high dependency unit. 

Sarah the ward Sister says “Caterpillar has a fantastic and welcoming team, you will have exposure to a wide variety of skills and experiences due to the diversity and mix of our patients from a range of different specialties. If you are new to Bristol, Caterpillar will provide a good foundation to help you get to know the hospital, teams, and opportunities available. We have a High Dependency Unit (HDU) where you can further develop your skills, and education is a key focus for us as we provide plenty of opportunity to attend courses at university, online and through our Faculty of Children’s Nurse Education. There is never a dull day on Caterpillar!”

So, what are you waiting for? Start your new life today by applying now.  

Main duties of the job

You will be providing, assessing, planning and evaluating excellent care for the children and their families on Caterpillar ward.

Experience working with high dependency patients is desirable but not essential.

As a paediatric staff nurse you will:

• work as part of the nursing and multi-disciplinary team, communicating effectively and maintaining confidentiality with patients’ carers;
• work within Trust policies and NMC guidelines, including keeping accurate records of care;
• promote and maintain a safe environment for our patients;
• continue to develop your managerial skills by regularly taking charge and actively participating in practice development opportunities; and
• act as a professional role model / team leader, setting standards of practice and promoting clinical effectiveness.

Please refer to the job description for more information.

Working for our organisation

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children is a tertiary centre covering the south west of England. Widely recognised as a national and international centre of excellence, the many paediatric services include cardiac, oncology, renal, burns, trauma and neurosciences.

BRHC is nestled in the heart of the lively city of Bristol. A city brimming with art and culture, restaurants and nightlife. A place where you can live and grow, raise a family and discover the true meaning of work-life balance.

Due to changes in restrictions, we are now able to accept informal visits and interviews can take place either in person on the ward or virtually via Microsoft Teams.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person specification Knowledge and Experience Essential criteria

• Broad knowledge and experience of clinical nursing practice within a hospital environment
• Interest in the clinical area

Desirable criteria

• Experience of teaching
• Experience of taking charge

Skills and Abilities Essential criteria

• Demonstrate competence in clinical skills relevant to the clinical area
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, able to communicate effectively with patients, carers and MDT
• Computer skills
• Competence in calculations for safe administration of medicines/fluids
• Ability to take the lead, initiate and ensure appropriate action in response to the deteriorating patient
• Clinical decision making ability
• Teaching/supervisory skills
• Ability to work with minimum supervision
• Act in a professional manner
• Self motivated
• A team player
• Recognition of own limits

Public Sector Language Competency Essential criteria

• Be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard

Qualifications and and Training Essential criteria

• RSCN/ RN child branch (NMC registered) or equivalent
• Current NMC registration

Desirable criteria

• Work towards relevant university accredited post basic study programmes e.g. teaching and assessing course

Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.

The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all of our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

With strong links to the University of Bristol and University of West of England we are the major medical research and training centre in the region, using findings to continually improve our patient care and attracting the highest calibre clinical staff from across the UK.

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

To find out more or to apply for this role please click on the APPLY button

IMPORTANT:

1. Please ensure you check your emails regularly as this is how we will communicate with you throughout the recruitment process. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form. Due to high volumes of applications, vacancies may be closed before the closing date.
2. As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.
3. When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.