Band 6 Occupational Health Nurse Advisor

The Band 6 Occupational Health Nurse Advisor plays a key role in supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of the workforce within East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. The post holder provides specialist occupational health advice to managers and staff, ensuring employees are fit to work safely and effectively while promoting early intervention and preventative health strategies.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary occupational health team, the role focuses on clinical triage, fitness for work assessments, and case management of employees with physical or mental health conditions impacting their work.

A significant element of the role includes managing occupational health referrals, prioritising clinical need, and acting as a gatekeeper to ensure appropriate allocation and escalation of complex cases. The post holder also undertakes pre-employment health screening (“clear to work”) assessments, ensuring safe recruitment practices, and contributes to immunisation, screening, and blood-borne virus (BBV) management programmes in line with national guidance.

The role requires strong clinical judgement, communication, and case management skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with managers, HR, clinicians and external stakeholders. The post holder contributes to the duty clinician function, responding to urgent workforce health queries and coordinating timely interventions where required.

Key Responsibilities

• Clinical triage and referral management
  • Review and prioritise occupational health referrals, assess risk and urgency, and ensure cases are directed to the most appropriate pathway or escalated when required.
• Fitness for work assessments
  • Undertake occupational health assessments to determine employees’ ability to work safely, providing advice on workplace adjustments, phased returns, restrictions, and rehabilitation plans.
• Case management
  • Manage a caseload of staff with physical and mental health conditions, supporting early intervention, reducing sickness absence, and coordinating ongoing care with relevant stakeholders.
• Pre-employment (clear to work) screening
  • Assess health questionnaires and supporting medical information to determine fitness for employment and advise on any adjustments required prior to start.
• Immunisation and screening programmes
  • Support occupational health vaccination, screening, and health surveillance programmes in line with national guidance and local policy.
• Exposure and BBV management
  • Assess and manage workplace exposure incidents, including blood-borne virus risks, ensuring appropriate follow-up, advice, and escalation where necessary.
• Duty clinician responsibilities
  • Provide clinical coordination on a rota basis, respond to urgent queries, support incident management, and deliver timely occupational health advice.