Job summary
- Main area
- Haematology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent: Cross site (Luton and Bedford)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (On-call cover)
- Job ref
- 418-NU46438-JB
- Employer
- Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Cross-site - Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Bedford Hospital
- Town
- Luton
- Salary
- £57,528 - £64,750 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/11/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 13/11/2026
Employer heading
Lead Haematology Specialist Nurse
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced senior nurse with a background in Haematology to join the Haematology Team at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Lead Haematology Nurse will provide expert clinical and professional leadership, promoting high standards of care and ensuring patients receive safe, effective and person-centred support throughout their cancer journey.
Working closely with the Haematology consultant team and multidisciplinary colleagues, the post holder will support the delivery of care across inpatient and outpatient settings, ensuring patients receive seamless care and support throughout their treatment pathway. Applicants should have substantial Haematology experience, ideally as a Clinical Nurse Specialist or Advanced Nurse Practitioner, with evidence of advanced clinical expertise and leadership.
The successful candidate will play a key role in service development, driving improvements in clinical practice, patient experience and outcomes. They will lead innovation across the service, support the delivery of national cancer priorities, and ensure patients receive holistic, high-quality care throughout treatment, recovery and follow-up.
Main duties of the job
Please also read the full Job Description attached.
Provide clinical and professional leadership for the Haematology service.
Deliver expert, evidence-based care for patients with haematological conditions.
Manage a specialist caseload, working autonomously to assess, diagnose and treat patients.
Support patients and carers to make informed decisions throughout their care journey.
Prescribe and manage treatments in line with Trust policies and best practice.
Lead service improvement, innovation and the development of clinical standards.
Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to ensure seamless patient care.
Contribute to education, governance and quality improvement activities across the service.
Working for our organisation
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.
Our values
We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.
Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Lead Haematology Nurse will provide clinical and professional leadership to the Haematology Clinical Nurse Specialist team, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centred care across the Haematology service. Working closely with consultants and the multidisciplinary team, the post holder will provide expert clinical advice and support the management of patients with complex haematological conditions throughout their treatment pathway.
The role will lead service development, promote best practice, support workforce development, and drive quality improvement initiatives. As a senior clinical leader, the post holder will act as a key resource for the CNS team and wider healthcare professionals, using their specialist expertise to improve patient outcomes, experience and the overall quality of care.
Person specification
Education/ Qualifications
Essential criteria
- NMC registration and a degree in related subject
- Post registration qualification(s) in speciality or relevant subject at level 7 (Cancer and/or Haematology)
- Recognised teaching qualification and Advanced Communication Skills
Desirable criteria
- Leadership and Management course(s)
- MSc in related speciality
- Advanced physical assessment and clinical reasoning qualification
- Quality improvement training
Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial post registration experience at band 7 or above, including relevant CNS experience.
- Experience of teaching and assessing others
- Experience of audit and service development
- Experience of leadership
Desirable criteria
- Research experience and publication
Skills/Knowledge/Abilities
Essential criteria
- Excellent communication skills
- Proven ability to recognise and analyse complex situations
- Independent and autonomous practitioner
- Proactive, self-motivated with an ability to motivate others
Desirable criteria
- Ability to plan strategically and clinically influence and advise clinicians and senior manager within the Trust and external bodies/organisations
- Demonstrates previous experience with performance, capability and absence management in line with Trust policies
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Joao Barros
- Job title
- Head of Nursing
- Email address
- [email protected]
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