About this role
Job summary
Working Full or Part time hours
The National Health Service (NHS) has a number of sub-acute services that have developed in recent years from the guidance of NHS white papers such as the NHS Long term plan (2019) and NHS five year forward view (2014), which recommend for NHS trusts to deliver more care and services closer to a person's home rather than in acute hospitals.
As pressure on emergency departments across the UK grows, new care models will be pivotal in delivering and relieving some of these pressures by diverting work away from the hospital and into the community through the 2-hour Urgent Community Response and virtual ward offers.
In Cheshire West, the 'Hospital at Home' service has implemented virtual wards allowing patients to get the care they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital. The NHS is increasingly introducing virtual wards to support people at the place they call home, including care homes.
The Hospital at Home workforce fits the NHS model well in supporting hospital level care at home; experienced General Practitioners, advanced clinical practitioners with prescribing rights, registered therapists / nurses and support workers offer a 7-day service that runs from 8am-8pm. Allowing for wrap around care and an excellent patient experience as evidenced in the services monthly feedback from patients.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a hard-working, enthusiastic, highly motivated and experienced Registered Nurses to join our Hospital at Home team to support this innovative way of working, to cover maternity leave.
We would welcome applications from registered Nurses with experience in acute medicine as well as community experience in the management of long-term health needs of our ageing population.
The primary focus of the role is to provide patient-centred clinical care within the home, including delivering IV antibiotic interventions, catheter care, acute wound management and end of life care. The posts are intended to provide improved outcomes for our patients by providing safe, kind and effective care, within their home.
If you are looking to join an innovative service at the forefront of real system change, then this is certainly an exciting time to join our existing team.
About us
The Trusts services are provided from three locations:
The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.
The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery.
Job description Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.
If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Registered Adult Nurse - Completed Preceptorship programme / 12 months acute experience
Desirable
Relevant speciality qualification (may be required for certain practice areas e.g. Critical Care)
Knowledge and Experience Essential
Basic knowledge of professional & NHS issues Understanding of quality change in a clinical setting Basic IT skills in word processing/Hospital systems
Desirable
Post-registration experience in a clinical setting (May be required & will be discussed at interview)
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address Countess of Chester Hospital / Custom House
Merseyton Road
Ellesmere Port
CH65 3AD
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)