Job summary
We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled Clinical Nurse Practitioner (RMN or RNLD) to deliver advanced, evidence-based nursing care within a high secure female forensic mental healthcare setting. This is a senior clinical role requiring excellent professional judgement, strong leadership capability, and a commitment to compassionate, trauma-informed practice.
The post holder will work within the National High Secure Healthcare Service for Women (NHSHSW) at Rampton Hospital, a purpose-built 50-bedded service comprising five specialist wards: Admissions; Continuing Care and Pre-Discharge; Intensive Care Unit (ICU); High Dependency Unit (HDU); and an Adapted Environment. The service supports women detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) who present with complex mental health needs, significant trauma histories, and behaviours that challenge services.
This role offers the opportunity to shape and deliver advanced nursing practice across the service, provide clinical leadership within multidisciplinary teams, and contribute to service development, education, research, and evaluation in a nationally recognised high secure setting.
Main duties of the job
The Clinical Nurse Practitioner will:
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Deliver advanced nursing assessment, formulation, and intervention to women with complex forensic mental health needs
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Provide expert clinical leadership, guidance, and decision-making within high-risk, high-complexity environments
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Offer clinical supervision, mentoring, teaching, and professional development to nursing staff and wider MDT colleagues
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Work collaboratively within established multidisciplinary teams, contributing specialist nursing perspectives to care planning, risk management, and treatment pathways
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Provide advanced clinical advice on the delivery of safe, effective, and compassionate care across their specialist area
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Actively contribute to service evaluation, quality improvement, and service development, aligned with the service's clinical strategy
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Apply current legislation, policy, and research evidence to clinical practice, ensuring care meets national and professional standards
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Promote reflective practice, trauma-informed care, and service user involvement within clinical teams
- As a senior clinician, the post holder will contribute to clinical audits, investigations, and quality assurance activity, and will provide visible clinical leadership through deployment into ward settings where required to support staff, patients, and service delivery and to provide hands-on clinical support, leadership, and reflective practice in response to service need.
About us
#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.
We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the NHSHSW and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.
We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.
The health and wellbeing of colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.
The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will function as a senior autonomous practitioner, providing advanced nursing care to women detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) within a high secure forensic environment. This includes undertaking comprehensive assessments, contributing to formulation and care planning, supporting risk assessment and management, and delivering or advising on specialist interventions appropriate to the individuals needs and security context.
A key component of the role is clinical leadership. The post holder will model best practice, support the development of nursing staff, and contribute to a culture of learning through supervision, mentoring, reflective practice, and teaching. They will work closely with ward managers, consultant psychiatrists, psychologists, allied health professionals, and other MDT members to ensure cohesive, patient-centered care.
The role requires the ability to provide advanced clinical advice across wards, supporting decision-making in complex and high-risk situations, and contributing to safe admission, transfer, and discharge pathways. The post holder will be expected to maintain a high level of professional competence, keeping up to date with relevant research, national guidance, and legislative frameworks, and translating these into clinical practice.
In addition, the post holder will have opportunities to contribute to service evaluation, research activity, and quality improvement initiatives, supporting the ongoing development of the NHSHSW. They will be expected to demonstrate leadership aligned with the services values of compassion, collaboration, respect, and safety, and to actively promote inclusive, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented care for women in high secure services.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for more detail.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will function as a senior autonomous practitioner, providing advanced nursing care to women detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) within a high secure forensic environment. This includes undertaking comprehensive assessments, contributing to formulation and care planning, supporting risk assessment and management, and delivering or advising on specialist interventions appropriate to the individuals needs and security context.
A key component of the role is clinical leadership. The post holder will model best practice, support the development of nursing staff, and contribute to a culture of learning through supervision, mentoring, reflective practice, and teaching. They will work closely with ward managers, consultant psychiatrists, psychologists, allied health professionals, and other MDT members to ensure cohesive, patient-centered care.
The role requires the ability to provide advanced clinical advice across wards, supporting decision-making in complex and high-risk situations, and contributing to safe admission, transfer, and discharge pathways. The post holder will be expected to maintain a high level of professional competence, keeping up to date with relevant research, national guidance, and legislative frameworks, and translating these into clinical practice.
In addition, the post holder will have opportunities to contribute to service evaluation, research activity, and quality improvement initiatives, supporting the ongoing development of the NHSHSW. They will be expected to demonstrate leadership aligned with the services values of compassion, collaboration, respect, and safety, and to actively promote inclusive, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented care for women in high secure services.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for more detail.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse (RMN or RNLD)
- Post qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant area of practice.
Desirable
- Additional relevant specialist training through degree/ diploma or supplemented through short courses to master's level or equivalent.
- Specialist clinical qualifications / training
- Management / Leadership Development courses
- Supervision Training
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with women, diagnosed with conditions including complex PTSD, depression, personality disorder, neurodivergent conditions.
- Experience of working in secure settings
- Proven track record of working effectively in MDTs
- Leadership / team building experience and the ability to develop others
- Demonstrate comprehensive risk assessment skills
- Experience delivering and receiving supervision
- Experience of working with women and demonstrating a gender-sensitive approach to clinical practice
Desirable
- Experience of conference presentations and/or publications
- Experience of delivering training to groups of staff
- Experience of delivering both individual and group therapy programmes
- Experience of developing and reviewing specialist treatment programmes
- Experience of facilitating reflective practice group sessions
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and understanding of trauma and trauma-informed care
- Working knowledge of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Code of Practice
- Knowledge of current legislation and contemporaneous issues in forensic care.
- Demonstrate understanding of National and Local issues in relation to secure inpatient care.
- Cultural awareness / competence in relation to an aspect of diversity
Skills
Essential
- High level of written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrate excellent leadership skills and ability to effectively manage groups
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Demonstrate skills of conflict resolution
- Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries
Desirable
- Research and audit skills
- Extensive IT skills
Values
Essential
- oAll colleagues are expected to demonstrate at interview that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: (Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork)
Physical Requirements
Essential
- oAble to physically participate in the management of violence and aggression training and its implementation in practice
Contractual Requirements
Essential
- Working 37.5 hour week Monday to Friday 7.5 hours
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse (RMN or RNLD)
- Post qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant area of practice.
Desirable
- Additional relevant specialist training through degree/ diploma or supplemented through short courses to master's level or equivalent.
- Specialist clinical qualifications / training
- Management / Leadership Development courses
- Supervision Training
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with women, diagnosed with conditions including complex PTSD, depression, personality disorder, neurodivergent conditions.
- Experience of working in secure settings
- Proven track record of working effectively in MDTs
- Leadership / team building experience and the ability to develop others
- Demonstrate comprehensive risk assessment skills
- Experience delivering and receiving supervision
- Experience of working with women and demonstrating a gender-sensitive approach to clinical practice
Desirable
- Experience of conference presentations and/or publications
- Experience of delivering training to groups of staff
- Experience of delivering both individual and group therapy programmes
- Experience of developing and reviewing specialist treatment programmes
- Experience of facilitating reflective practice group sessions
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and understanding of trauma and trauma-informed care
- Working knowledge of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Code of Practice
- Knowledge of current legislation and contemporaneous issues in forensic care.
- Demonstrate understanding of National and Local issues in relation to secure inpatient care.
- Cultural awareness / competence in relation to an aspect of diversity
Skills
Essential
- High level of written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrate excellent leadership skills and ability to effectively manage groups
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Demonstrate skills of conflict resolution
- Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries
Desirable
- Research and audit skills
- Extensive IT skills
Values
Essential
- oAll colleagues are expected to demonstrate at interview that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: (Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork)
Physical Requirements
Essential
- oAble to physically participate in the management of violence and aggression training and its implementation in practice
Contractual Requirements
Essential
- Working 37.5 hour week Monday to Friday 7.5 hours
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
