Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical Nurse Specialist - Heart Failure Nurse Specialist

The closing date is 02 February 2026

Job summary

JOB SUMMARY:

The post will incorporate the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) role dimensions of expert clinical practice, education, leadership, management and research.

The Lead Nurse CNS role for heart failure in the Virtual Ward will incorporate the dimensions of expert clinical practice, education, leadership, management and research. The post holder will be required:

Liaise with all key members of the multidisciplinary team to advise and support colleagues in the delivery of specialised patient care across professional boundaries within a virtual ward setting.

To work autonomously to deliver specialist clinical care appropriate to the needs of the patient group and based on principles that are research-based and enhance the quality of patient care.

To undertake nurse-led care and to be responsible for excellent standards of nursing care to patients through the planning, coordinating, delivering and evaluating nurse-led clinics and services.

Line-manage clinical nurse specialists within speciality and across boundaries.

To lead and support with specialist nursing knowledge the development and implementation of programmes of nursing care for individual patients and the client group as a whole.

To contribute to the facilitation of the planning, delivery and evaluation of care pathways for a designated group of patients.

To contribute to training and education within specialist area

Main duties of the job

Maintain a professional behaviour at all times and promote a positive image of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust at all times, in line with World Class Care values.

Ensure that the needs of patients are placed at the centre of care delivery, thus achieving trust and national standards for clinical quality, safety and patient experience.

To lead, negotiate, supervise, participate in, and manage caseload of patients within nurse led clinics both on and off site using advanced clinical assessment skills and clinical judgement to take a detailed history, physically assess, make any required differential diagnosis, order any tests or investigations required to confirm diagnosis, prescribe medication, evaluate and review treatment plan.

Make any alterations in the patient's current treatment plan or drug regimen required in response to evaluating test & investigation results or changes in patients' condition. Use advanced clinical knowledge & expertise in undertaking clinical assessments in partnership with patients and other professionals, using agreed protocols, but also where there are no appropriate precedents

Provide professional, clinical and managerial leadership to nursing and associated staff and ensure the provision of a high-quality, responsive nursing service.

About us

North Middlesex University Hospital is part of the North Central London integrated care system - consisting of the NHS and local authority organisations in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. As with other ICSs, we are working increasingly closely with partners and indeed many of our financial and performance objectives are measured at this system level. Whilst all organisations remain as standalone, statutory bodies we have an ICS infrastructure for making shared decisions and agreeing shared approaches.

We are proud of our staff and want to ensure their training allows them to provide excellent clinical care. We are also a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George's University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.

Take a tour of our hospital here

Details

Date posted

23 January 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£61,631 to £68,623 a year Per Annum Including HCAS

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

4 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

391-NMUH-7599834

Job locations

Virtual Ward (Adults)

Edmonton

N18 1QX


Job description

Job responsibilities

Act as autonomous first line of contact for patients seeking advice or support.

Provides professional and clinical leadership, providing a highly visible and authoritative presence ensuring the delivery of excellence in core, specialist and advanced nursing practice, audit, research, and service and practice development agendas.

To identify outcome measures which illustrate the quality of the service in line with national targets with a particular emphasis on establishing ways to show patient related outcome measures.

Recognises and champions innovations in nursing practice ensuring they are supported, evaluated and contribute to develop an evidence base to meet the needs of the patients, families, relatives and staff.

Communicates highly complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff whilst promoting a culture of shared decision making across all sites to support patients through the decision making process.

Able to diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients and relatives, using highly developed interpersonal and negotiation skills.

Contributes to service developments and innovations across the speciality and relevant external agencies, locally and nationally.

Contributes to the trusts nursing and professional agenda and promotes the trust as an international centre of excellence and national leader in the speciality.

Nationally aware of patient pathways and patient experience initiatives, and be able to implement these locally working together with patient groups

Developing innovative models of care and effective patient pathways using QI and CPG methodology that ensure patients receive the best possible service which is delivered closer to patients homes.

Liaise with other members of the multi-disciplinary team to ensure seamless patient care through the development of protocols and care pathways.

Contribute to protocols, documentation systems, standards, policies and clinical guidelines for others to use in practice.

To work with the senior management team to ensure that divisional and trust objectives are met.

In conjunction with the senior management team participate in business planning cycle, identifying areas of service development, focusing in particular on those related to nursing / education / training / research activities.

Contribute to organisational development projects to transform clinical services to meet the needs of world class nursing for the future.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Act as autonomous first line of contact for patients seeking advice or support.

Provides professional and clinical leadership, providing a highly visible and authoritative presence ensuring the delivery of excellence in core, specialist and advanced nursing practice, audit, research, and service and practice development agendas.

To identify outcome measures which illustrate the quality of the service in line with national targets with a particular emphasis on establishing ways to show patient related outcome measures.

Recognises and champions innovations in nursing practice ensuring they are supported, evaluated and contribute to develop an evidence base to meet the needs of the patients, families, relatives and staff.

Communicates highly complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff whilst promoting a culture of shared decision making across all sites to support patients through the decision making process.

Able to diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients and relatives, using highly developed interpersonal and negotiation skills.

Contributes to service developments and innovations across the speciality and relevant external agencies, locally and nationally.

Contributes to the trusts nursing and professional agenda and promotes the trust as an international centre of excellence and national leader in the speciality.

Nationally aware of patient pathways and patient experience initiatives, and be able to implement these locally working together with patient groups

Developing innovative models of care and effective patient pathways using QI and CPG methodology that ensure patients receive the best possible service which is delivered closer to patients homes.

Liaise with other members of the multi-disciplinary team to ensure seamless patient care through the development of protocols and care pathways.

Contribute to protocols, documentation systems, standards, policies and clinical guidelines for others to use in practice.

To work with the senior management team to ensure that divisional and trust objectives are met.

In conjunction with the senior management team participate in business planning cycle, identifying areas of service development, focusing in particular on those related to nursing / education / training / research activities.

Contribute to organisational development projects to transform clinical services to meet the needs of world class nursing for the future.

Person Specification

Education & professional Qualifications

Essential

  • Relevant first degree
  • Registered general nurse
  • Relevant qualification and experience in the specialty

Experience

Essential

  • Substantial experience in a senior nurse operational role in a Community NHS setting
  • Experience in running nurse led clinics pathways
  • Knowledge and experience of leading significant change, delivering tangible and sustained improvements

Skills and Aptitudes

Essential

  • Excellent communication skills and highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills
  • Ability to act autonomously in planning & implementing tasks
  • Ability to organize diverse teams to deliver high standard of patient care
Person Specification

Education & professional Qualifications

Essential

  • Relevant first degree
  • Registered general nurse
  • Relevant qualification and experience in the specialty

Experience

Essential

  • Substantial experience in a senior nurse operational role in a Community NHS setting
  • Experience in running nurse led clinics pathways
  • Knowledge and experience of leading significant change, delivering tangible and sustained improvements

Skills and Aptitudes

Essential

  • Excellent communication skills and highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills
  • Ability to act autonomously in planning & implementing tasks
  • Ability to organize diverse teams to deliver high standard of patient care

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).

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.

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

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Virtual Ward (Adults)

Edmonton

N18 1QX


Employer's website

https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Virtual Ward (Adults)

Edmonton

N18 1QX


Employer's website

https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Unplanned Care Service Lead

Olusheyi Johnson

olusheyi.johnson1@nhs.net

07929393696

Details

Date posted

23 January 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£61,631 to £68,623 a year Per Annum Including HCAS

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

4 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

391-NMUH-7599834

Job locations

Virtual Ward (Adults)

Edmonton

N18 1QX


Supporting documents

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