Job summary
- Main area
- Acute Care
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 180-F-257262
- Employer
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Addenbrookes Hospital-Corporate
- Town
- Cambridge
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 p.a. pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/11/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 11/12/2025
Employer heading
Deteriorating Patient Lead Practitioner
Band 8a
Job overview
The Deteriorating Patient Lead will provide strategic and clinical leadership to ensure the timely recognition and effective management of acutely ill and deteriorating patients across the Trust.
This role will drive improvements in patient safety by developing and implementing evidence-based strategies, delivering education and training programmes, and supporting clinical teams with expert guidance. Working collaboratively with divisional leaders and specialist teams, the post holder will champion best practice, embed national standards such as NEWS and sepsis pathways, and lead quality improvement initiatives to reduce harm and improve outcomes for patients.
Main duties of the job
- Provide strategic leadership for the identification, escalation, and management of deteriorating patients across the Trust.
- Develop and implement evidence-based policies, protocols, and improvement strategies aligned with national standards (e.g., NEWS2, sepsis pathways).
- Lead the design and delivery of education and training programmes to enhance staff competence in recognising and responding to acute deterioration.
- Act as a clinical expert and resource, offering specialist advice and support to multidisciplinary teams.
- Monitor compliance, analyse data, and drive quality improvement initiatives to reduce harm and improve patient outcomes.
- Collaborate with divisional teams, Rapid Response Teams, and senior leaders to embed best practice and foster a culture of safety.
- Contribute to incident reviews, learning processes, and implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)
Skills and Experience We’re Looking For
- Advanced clinical assessment and decision-making skills for acutely ill patients.
- Strong leadership and change management capability.
- Experience in service improvement and implementing evidence-based practice.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills across multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to design and deliver education and training programmes.
- Knowledge of national patient safety standards and escalation protocols (e.g., NEWS, sepsis).
Working for our organisation
Come Nurse with us…
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the country. It comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital. We provide accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge and regional and national specialist services. It’s a great place to nurse, work and live.
You will work on a vibrant hospital campus with a friendly community feel; we have excellent facilities to practise your skills and abilities to support your career pathway and development. Our values of Together – Safe, Kind, Excellent support the delivery of outstanding care. We have a fully electronic patient record system that is improving health-care quality; this is transforming services, improving patient safety and clinical outcomes.
Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?
• Our values and reputation for outstanding care
• Opportunities to experience a range of specialities
• Career and development opportunities
• Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support team
• Research experience and opportunities
• Lovely location and quality of life
• Excellent schools/colleges and transport links (road, rail and air)
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:
- applied for a Graduate visa
- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment
- or the Trust has agreed that they will Sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start
For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 26 November 2025
Interviews are due to be held on 11 December 2025
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Current clinical qualification and professional registration (NMC or HCPC)
- Educated to degree level
- Masters in related area of healthcare (or working towards)
- Post registration qualification in related subject
- Evidence of continuous professional development.
- Quality improvement training.
Desirable criteria
- Leadership training.
- Teaching or mentoring qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant relevant clinical experience in the Specialty and ability to demonstrate expert skills.
- Experience of formal and informal teaching and mentoring.
- Experience in quality improvement projects.
- Experience of leading Trust wide audit process for national standards.
- Experience in managing a team including management of workforce procedures.
- Experience of working in a large and complex NHS organisation in relation to the speciality.
- Experience of leading or supporting patient safety investigation processes.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understands the requirement for a strong commitment to patient safety and quality improvement, with a focus on continuous learning and development.
- Advanced knowledge of evidence-based practice.
- Knowledge of measuring and monitoring standards of care using quantitative and qualitative information.
- Understanding of clinical governance principles and procedures.
- Knowledge of national and international standards related to the speciality
- Budgetary management and business planning; including workforce planning.
- Quality Improvement models and measurement and monitoring of key performance indicators
- Understanding of patient safety principles of systems thinking, psychological safety, and just culture.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of interpreting Statistical Process Control charts.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates strong leadership skills, including the ability to motivate and inspire others, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Expert clinical skills and decision-making.
- Ability to lead on key governance systems and process related to the speciality
- Adaptable to changing situations due to service needs.
- Ability to work unsupervised and effectively manage own workload.
- Effective interpersonal and leadership skills.
- Demonstrate analytical and judgmental skills.
- Ability to quickly appraise situation and act accordingly.
- Demonstrates experience of adaptability and ability to work across professional boundaries
- Develops performance through constructive feedback and encouragement.
- Highly effective verbal and written communication skills.
- IT skills: Outlook, Word, and Excel as a minimum
Desirable criteria
- Trained After Action Review facilitator.
- Training in patient safety investigation methodology
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
- To always act in a professional manner in accordance with relevant professional standards
- Capable of developing liaisons with other practice areas/academic institutions.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of broader issues related to national standards and NHS strategies.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
.png "NHS Rainbow badge")
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Vicky Carr
- Job title
- Lead Nurse for Accreditation & Harm Free Care
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
A pre application/interview conversation would be welcomed.
List jobs with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Nursing and Midwifery or all sectors