Job summary
- Main area
- Discharge Lounge
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 193-8306888NCG-A
- Employer
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Berkshire Hospital
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £32,073 - £39,043 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 04/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Staff Nurse (Discharge Lounge)
NHS AfC: Band 5
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”
Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.
We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions
We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate
We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live
We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.
Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.
Please note: all vacancies automatically close when 50 applications have been received.
Job overview
Band 5 Staff Nurse (Discharge Lounge)
PLEASE NOTE: Sponsorship is not normally available for this vacancy - applicants must have the right-to-work in the UK for this role by their proposed start date.
The Discharge Lounge is a purpose built facility in which adult patients wait on their day of discharge for last day treatment, transport (Private or hospital), for their medications or for other reasons.
The post holder will work with the senior staff nurse to accelerate hospital bed capacity by safely managing patients who are medically fit for discharge and can be transferred to the discharge lounge.
Main duties of the job
- Facilitating early ward transfers by identifying and receiving patients from the inpatient wards early in the day to free up acute beds for emergency and elective admissions.
- Coordinating multidisciplinary discharges by liaising with pharmacy team, transport liaison officer and ward staff to resolve any delays.
- Monitoring patients, delivering personal care, providing meals and administering medications to patients in a relaxed setting.
- Updating next of kin, care homes, community hospitals , transport providers to ensure a smooth, coordinated safe discharge.
Working for our organisation
Reading sits on the river Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.
The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.
Our Trust "CARE" values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder is responsible for undertaking and recording a comprehensive nursing assessment and planning, delivering and evaluating high standards of evidenced based nursing care to a diverse group of patients in the discharge lounge.
- Is expected to deliver care without direct supervision. Is accountable for the care delivered and any omissions of care.
- Is expected to teach and supervise more junior staff, students and the non registered nursing workforce.
- Is accountable for care or any omissions of care that he/she delegates to others.
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the job role.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) - Part 1
- Excellent verbal and non verbal communication skills. Ability to actively listen to and hear peoples issues and concerns.
- Ability to actively listen to and hear peoples issues and concerns. Ability to communicate difficult, complex and contentious information in a way that is heard and understood
Desirable criteria
- Experience (through placement or employment) of working in an acute clinical environment
- Evidence of ongoing professional development
- Demonstrates awareness of current professional nursing issues
Experience
Essential criteria
- Demonstrate understanding of discharge process
- Able to work under own initiative and without direct supervision within responsibilities of role
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrates sound clinical knowledge and up to date nursing practice with evidence of critical thinking and problem solving
- Shows interest in facilitating learning and development of others
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates an empathetic, caring and sensitive approach to patients, relatives and carers
Desirable criteria
- Embraces change and innovation positively and with enthusiasm
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Juliet Serwaa Owusu Nelson
- Job title
- Lead Nurse Integrated Medicine B
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01183228386
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