Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced member of critical care staff to take up a role as Transfer Practitioner, working for Retrieve (Peninsula Base).

Retrieve is the South West’s dedicated Adult Critical Care Transfer Service, commissioned by NHS England South West Specialised Commissioning, hosted by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and supported by the South West Critical Care Network (SWCCN). We are looking for a registered critical care practitioner who can deliver high-quality transfer care to critically unwell patients across the South West.

Retrieve provides a single point of contact for all adult critical care transfer referrals 24 hours a day via a dedicated 0300 number.  All calls are managed by a Duty Consultant who triages, coordinates and can provide remote decision-support if required.  Retrieve operates a dedicated 24 hour transfer team from each of its operational bases – one in Launceston, Cornwall, covering the Peninsula sub-region (Devon and Cornwall) and one in Bristol covering the Severn sub-region (Gloucestershire to Somerset).

The post is offered for 0.81 FTE  (33.25 hours per week)

Main duties of the job

As a Band 6 Transfer Practitioner, following completion of the appropriate additional training, you will assume responsibility for the specialised care required to transfer critically ill adults.  There is an expectation that you continue to develop your clinical and management skills by demonstrating an ability to work remotely in the referring centres, in partnership with the local teams.

On occasion, the role involves working independently, providing Practitioner-delivered transfers of Level 2 (high dependency) and Level 1 (ward level) patients.  This is supported remotely by the Retrieve Duty Consultant and will typically involve collaborative working with a doctor from the referring hospital. 

You will be expected to support and mentor new members of the multi-professional team, demonstrating an active role in the ongoing education programmes.

In partnership with the SWCCN, the post holder will support the relationship between the Service and referring centers.

Supported by the Lead Nurses and Senior Transfer Practitioner, successful applicants will be involved with service projects, audit and research, delivery and completion of education and outreach. 

There will be a requirement to work shifts including nights, evenings and weekends, with the occasional potential to overrun.  There will be a requirement to work with highly infectious patients and therefore a necessity to comply with infection prevention and control guidance.

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. 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. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. 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.