You'll work autonomously within your scope of practice while supporting and developing junior colleagues, leading by example and contributing to the continued improvement of the department.

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Essential Requirements Include

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• A minimum of 3 years' post-registration experience working within a busy Emergency Department.
• Competence in the full range of extended Emergency Department nursing skills, including:
  • Independent requesting of X-rays.
  • Wound assessment and suturing.
  • Front door streaming and Emergency Department triage.
  • Significant experience in ambulance offload assessment, making rapid, safe and effective decisions to prioritise patients and maintain patient flow.
  • Experience coordinating clinical areas within the Emergency Department, demonstrating the ability to prioritise workload, manage patient flow, allocate resources and respond effectively to changing operational pressures.
  • A sound understanding of Emergency Department performance indicators and operational metrics, including patient flow, ambulance handover performance, time-critical pathways and the 4-hour standard, with the ability to use these to support safe, high-quality patient care while reducing delays and maintaining patient safety.
  • The ability to assess complex clinical presentations quickly, recognising deterioration, initiating appropriate interventions and escalating concerns promptly.
  • Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to work effectively alongside consultants, specialty doctors, ACPs, nurses, paramedics, therapists, healthcare support workers and operational teams across all grades.
  • Proven ability to remain calm, organised and clinically focused while managing multiple patients, competing priorities and frequent interruptions within an exceptionally busy department.
  • Strong leadership skills with the confidence to coordinate clinical areas, support colleagues, make timely decisions and foster a positive, collaborative team culture.
  • A commitment to delivering compassionate, patient-centred care, even under pressure, while acting as a role model for professional standards and clinical excellence.

Person specification

Education

Essential criteria

• Registered nurse
• Relevant specialty post-registration qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• 3 years post-graduate experience
• A minimum of 3 years post-registration experience in ED

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Emergency department nursing competencies including: Independent requesting of X-rays, Wound assessment and suturing, Front door streaming and Emergency Department triage.
• A sound understanding of Emergency Department performance indicators and operational metrics.
• A sound understanding of research and clinical governance

Personal qualities

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills
• Able to demonstrate leadership skills
• Able to work and lead others within a diverse community of patients & health care professionals

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points-based system.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

Important

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.