Skip to main content
Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Critical Care
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
12 months (Fixed term: 12 months)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
282-SB1658
Employer
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
The Royal Marsden Chelsea
Town
Chelsea
Salary
£58,133 - £65,261 Per Annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
13/08/2026 23:59

Employer heading

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust logo

Clinical Nurse Specialist - Deteriorating Patients , Sepsis & AKI

NHS AfC: Band 7

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen at The Royal Marsden Hospital for a highly motivated and experienced nurse to join our team as a Clinical Nurse Specialist for Deteriorating Patients, Sepsis and AKI.

This pivotal role will provide expert clinical leadership across the Trust, supporting the early identification, escalation and management of patients at risk of clinical deterioration. The post holder will work closely with the Lead Nurse and Practice Educator for Deteriorating Patients, Sepsis & AKI, the Critical Care Outreach Team, and multidisciplinary colleagues to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes.

The successful candidate will lead education, audit and quality improvement initiatives, ensuring compliance with national standards and Trust policies while supporting the implementation of Martha’s Rule.
You will act as an expert clinical resource, promoting best practice in the recognition and management of sepsis, acute kidney injury and deteriorating patients.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to contribute to Trust-wide patient safety priorities, influence practice and drive continuous improvement within a world-leading specialist cancer centre.

Please Note: This is a fixed-term post funded through short-term funding. As recruitment processes is a part of the funding period, the contract may be for less than 12 months.

Main duties of the job

This role focuses on the identification, escalation, and management of patients experiencing clinical deterioration, including those diagnosed with sepsis and acute kidney injury (AKI)

The CNS will offer expert guidance and support to staff in assessing and managing deteriorating patients, specifically those affected by sepsis and AKI. This includes acting as a resource for the clinical teams and collaborating closely with the Lead Nurse and Practice Educator for Deteriorating Patient, Sepsis & AKI, the Outreach service, and medical teams.

The post holder is responsible for driving educational initiatives, conducting audits, and leading quality improvement projects to ensure adherence to both national and Trust standards of practice.

A key aspect of this role involves supporting the Trust’s patient safety agenda and facilitating the implementation of component three of Martha’s Rule, in alignment with the NHSE national initiative.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist will work in partnership with other healthcare professionals to promote best clinical practices for the recognition, treatment, and care of deteriorating patients, including those with AKI and/or Sepsis.

By working collaboratively with colleagues, the post holder will help create a dynamic and supportive working environment. This ensures the service operates efficiently and effectively, contributing to the achievement of both national and local performance standards within the designated timeframe.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification

  • Provide expert leadership and support in the management of deteriorating patients throughout the Trust, with a strong focus on Martha’s rule, sepsis identification, management and AKI prevention and management.
  • Develop and implement Trust-wide policies and procedures for the early recognition and management of clinical deterioration, ensuring alignment with national best practice guidelines.
  • Ensuring timely recognition and intervention for patients at risk of deterioration in all settings.
  • Raise awareness of NEWS2, PEWS, AKI, and Sepsis among all clinical groups, patients, and carers.
  • Ensure that the data is relevant and supports quality improvement and learning within the organisation.
  • To feedback to appropriate stakeholders on the results/trends of audits and measurements for improvement to Trust Committees

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • First level registration (NMC)
  • Degree level education, relevant clinical qualification
  • Evidence of continuing professional development
  • Nurse mentorship or recognised teaching qualification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Extensive experience in Acute or critical Care (Band 6/7) including assessing and managing deteriorating patients
  • Experience of working within the oncology setting
  • Experience of the audit process, able to measure progress against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking data
  • Clear understanding of NHS key quality indicators and CQUIN targets and NHS improvements
  • Excellent organisational and time management skills
  • Good analytical/critical appraisal and deductive reasoning skills.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience in developing and implementing reporting systems based on Electronic Patient Records

Skills Abilities/knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of good leadership and communication skills, including delegation and co-ordination of teams
  • Ability to interpret and relay complex data in line with national policies and reporting requirements
  • Evidence of good management practices
  • Evidence of involvement/leading in Quality Improvement project
  • Ability to innovate and respond to change
  • Ability to interpret and implement new policies into workplace procedures
  • Evidence of commitment to patient & carer involvement in care
  • Knowledge of clinical governance issues and risk management strategies
  • Ability to make decisions, organise & prioritise
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to liaise effectively with multi-disciplinary team members
  • Experience and ability to manage conflict situations
  • Evidence of good understanding of NHS plans and cancer network working
  • Computer literacy in Excel, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

Other Requirements

Essential criteria
  • Ability to work clinical shifts as required

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Trust IDApprenticeships logoLondon Living Wage is a voluntary commitment made by employers, who can become accredited with the Living Wage FoundationArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardDisability confident employerCare quality commission - OutstandingStep into healthMenopause Friendly 2025

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Yara Oliveira
Job title
Matron Critical Care/CCOT
Email address
[email protected]