Job overview
Band 6 Junior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist – Whipps Cross Hospital (Secondment Opportunity)
Join us in transforming patient care through excellence in skin health and wound management.
An exciting secondment opportunity has arisen within the Tissue Viability team at Whipps Cross Hospital. We are a supportive, forward‑thinking service dedicated to delivering outstanding patient‑centred care, innovation, and continuous improvement in tissue viability practice.
As a Band 6 Junior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist, you will play a vital role in ensuring patients receive safe, effective, and compassionate specialist care. This is a development-focused role designed to help you grow your expertise, leadership skills, and clinical influence across the organisation.
Main duties of the job
1. Provide expert, holistic assessment and management of patients with complex wounds, promoting optimal healing and preservation of skin integrity.
2. Support the delivery and evaluation of tissue viability initiatives that improve patient outcomes and uphold dignity.
3. Offer specialist advice, education, and support to multidisciplinary teams, empowering colleagues to deliver consistent, safe, evidence‑based care.
4. Contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement, and service development projects within the team.
5. Participate in the delivery of teaching sessions and training programmes across clinical areas.
6. Work collaboratively across Barts Health, providing cross-site support to the wider Tissue Viability service when required.
Working for our organisation
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Main duties, responsibilities and results areas
Professional Development
7. Proactively identify areas for development in clinical, professional and leadership skills to support the ongoing improvement of Tissue Viability services in line with Trust values, quality standards and professional requirements, including NMC revalidation.
8. Take responsibility for meeting personal, professional, educational and developmental needs.
9. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant research, national guidance, best practice, and emerging trends related to Tissue Viability and nursing.
10. Actively participate in local and national professional networks that promote the development of Tissue Viability practice and service standards.
11. Engage in regular clinical supervision to reflect on practice, enhance professional competency, and support continuous improvement.
Clinical responsibilities
12. Support clinical areas in the prevention, early detection and management of skin damage.
13. Continually reflect on, maintain and develop clinical skills and knowledge within Tissue Viability.
14. Act as a clinical resource for the assessment and management of patients with skin damage, wounds or at risk of wound development.
15. Review, prioritise and manage referrals in accordance with the Tissue Viability referral pathway, identifying those requiring direct review or escalation to other services.
16. Undertake holistic patient assessments, including risk factors, wound assessment,
co-morbidities, and safeguarding considerations, seeking support from the Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist when required.
17. Supported by the Senior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialists, provide advice on appropriate wound care and skin management plans, ensuring care is evidence-based and tailored to individual need.
18. Support clinical teams to implement and follow wound care and skin damage prevention pathways, including:
- Pressure ulcer risk screening
- Skin inspection (ASSKING bundle)
- Pressure ulcer classification (EPUAP)
- Assessment of non-pressure ulcer wound aetiologies
- Comprehensive wound assessment, including measurement/tracing of deep or complex wounds
- Application and removal of complex dressings (e.g., NPWT, PICO, Larval therapy)
- Re-positioning strategies and pressure off-loading techniques
- Advice on selection and correct use of equipment, report faults, and escalate when action is not taken by clinical teams.
19. Facilitate timely referral to internal/external specialists and support services.
20. Promote and support accurate incident reporting of skin damage.
21. Submit incident reports where delays in care or inappropriate treatment are identified.
22. Contribute to MDT discussions and complex discharge planning for patients requiring ongoing wound care in the community.
Management and Leadership
23. Contribute to the development, review and implementation of Trust guidelines, policies and care pathways relating to skin damage prevention and complex wound management, ensuring alignment with national guidance.
24. Demonstrate We Care values to foster collaborative working, support positive change and promote a healthy team culture.
25. Support and protect the Trust’s reputation by escalating service concerns and complaints through appropriate channels, seeking to de-escalate where appropriate.
26. Escalate service issues and concerns to the line manager while aiming to resolve matters promptly and prevent formal complaints when possible.
27. Promote and advocate for patient-centred, evidence-based, cost-effective care in all professional activities.
28. Participate in shared learning and service development in line with PSIRF and LFPSE frameworks.
29. Systematically log advice and communications to support accurate activity data collection.
30. Maintain high-quality, accurate records in accordance with Trust information governance requirements and NMC record-keeping standards.
31. Support the development and implementation of documentation relevant to the Tissue Viability service.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person specification
Qualifications and knowledge
Essential criteria
32. Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
33. Awareness of the National Guidelines relevant to tissue viability
34. Knowledge of contemporary wound dressings and technologies
35. Knowledge of and interest in quality improvement techniques
36. Knowledge of different types of therapy equipment
Desirable criteria
37. Graduate with relevant degree or equivalent
38. Teaching qualification
39. Recognised tissue viability qualification (level 3) D
40. Understand the principles of Governance, particularly in relation to their service area
Experience
Essential criteria
41. Evidence of experience and knowledge in Tissue Viability
42. Experience of leading a team (Band 6)
43. Experience of supporting other practitioners to deliver high quality care
44. Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
45. Ability to work autonomously and to prioritise and co-ordinate workload
46. Ability to work under pressure
47. High standards of record keeping and report writing
48. Experience of leading QI projects
49. Experience of formal and informal teaching
Skills
Essential criteria
50. Able to evidence clinical knowledge and skills in tissue viability, holistic patient assessment, complex wound assessment, treatment planning and evaluation
51. High level of personal professional accountability and working autonomously to achieve agreed objectives
52. Ability to negotiate and influence people to achieve change
53. Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to prioritise effectively
54. Capable of working with clinical and non-clinical staff at all levels, displaying excellent customer service skills
55. Excellent organisational skills with flexibility to adapt when required
56. Skills in teaching registered and unregistered staff, multi-disciplinary team, carers and patients both formally and informally
57. Have good flexible influencing and motivating skills
Personal and people development
Essential criteria
58. Evidence of continued professional development
59. Up to date with local and national issues related to tissue viability and nursing practice
60. Determined and self- motivated individual
61. Ability to lead by example and effect change in others
Communication
Essential criteria
62. Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills with an ability to maintain communication with people on complex and at times sensitive matters
63. Experience of presentation skills to a wide and varied audience
64. Ability to communicate ideas and information to audiences at all levels through a range of media
65. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience of training and writing reports that include data analysis.
Desirable criteria
66. Experience of presentation skills to a wide and varied audience
67. Ability to communicate ideas and information to audiences at all levels through a range of media
68. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience of training and writing reports that include data analysis.
Specific requirements
Essential criteria
69. Assertive but professional
70. Self- motivated, proactive, and resourceful
71. Strategic thinker and able to pay attention to detail where necessary
72. Sufficient to perform the duties of the post with any aids and adaptations if necessary
**Visa Sponsorship Information**
Recent changes to UK immigration policy on the Health and Care Visa and Skilled Worker Visa could mean that this role is not eligible for sponsorship or that you may not meet the eligibility criteria.
Sponsorship can only be offered if this post and any individual offered employment meet all the Home Office’s requirements under the UK Skilled Worker visa scheme.
If you are applying from outside the UK or will require sponsorship, please mention this clearly in your application.
To be eligible for sponsorship, the following conditions must be met:
73. Eligible role: The position must be on the UK Skilled Worker visa list. You can check your eligibility here: -.
74. Salary threshold: The role must meet the minimum salary set by the Home Office. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.
75. Skill level: The role must meet the minimum skill requirement of RQF Level 6 or above (graduate level).
76. English language: Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency at CEFR level B2 or higher.
77. Other criteria: Applicants must meet all other criteria as set out by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)