Job overview
The Hampshire Hospitals Pre-Assessment team are looking for a proactive and experienced nurse to join our team as a Band 6 Pre-Assessment Deputy Sister – Anaesthetic Support and Optimisation Nurse. This role combines clinical leadership with specialist care, focusing on improving outcomes for patients awaiting elective surgery.
The post holder will act as a senior clinical nurse within the Pre‑Assessment Service, providing leadership, expert assessment and specialist input for patients preparing for elective surgery. This Band 6 role focuses on perioperative optimisation, anaesthetic risk screening, and supporting safe surgical readiness through timely investigation, assessment, and referral.
The post holder will work autonomously to review ECGs, interpret blood results, screen surgical patients for anaesthetic risk, and escalate complex findings directly to anaesthetists. They will act as a senior point of contact for anaesthetic-related queries, supporting both clinical staff and the wider MDT.
Alongside this clinical leadership role, the Deputy Sister will support the Sister in day‑to‑day operational management, supervise junior staff, and contribute to ongoing service development to enhance patient safety, experience and pathway efficiency.
This is a cross-site role based in Basingstoke, supporting patients across Hampshire Hospitals Pre-Assessment service. It’s a great opportunity for a motivated nurse with leadership experience and a passion for patient-centred care.
Main duties of the job
•Take responsibility for the assessment and optimisation of patients with complex needs or increased peri‑operative risk, ensuring they are appropriately prepared for surgery.
•Undertake comprehensive pre‑operative assessments, including detailed medical history review, physical examination, ECG interpretation, and anaesthetic risk stratification in line with Trust and national guidance.
•Lead anaesthetic screening for high‑risk referrals, identifying patients requiring face‑to‑face review with a Consultant Anaesthetist and ensuring appropriate onward referral.
•Contribute to the development, implementation, and evaluation of peri‑operative optimisation pathways, supporting early intervention and improved patient flow.
•Maintain oversight of high‑risk referrals, waiting times, and clearance rates, ensuring robust tracking processes so that patients progress safely and efficiently through the pathway.
Oversee anaesthetic service email inboxes, responding to routine queries, supporting junior staff, and escalating complex clinical issues appropriately.
•Collaborate with the Perioperative Care Practitioner, Anaemia and Optimisation Lead, and wider multidisciplinary team to monitor and review patients requiring optimisation, particularly those with cardiopulmonary conditions.
Working for our organisation
Our vision is to provide outstanding care for every patient. Patient care is at the heart of what we do at our three sites: Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and Andover War Memorial Hospital. Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides medical and surgical services to a population of approximately 600,000 people across Hampshire and parts of West Berkshire.
Our cultural ambition is to have a culture that places people at the heart of all we do, where we all belong, and where learning, improvement and excellence thrive.
We provide specialist services to people across the UK and internationally. We are one of only two centres in the UK treating pseudomyxoma peritonei (a rare form of abdominal cancer) and we are leaders in the field of tertiary liver cancer and colorectal cancer.
The trust employs more than 9,000 staff and has a turnover of over £500 million a year. As a Foundation Trust, we are directly accountable to our members through the governors. The Council of Governors represent the interests of their constituencies and influence the future plans of the Foundation Trust.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Current level one NMC registration with post registration experience in pre assessment
2. First level degree or working towards one
3. Evidence of post registration training relevant to Pre Assessment, peri operative care, anaesthetic support, or anaemia management.
Desirable criteria
4. Holder of History taking and physical assessment course
5. Independent or non-medical prescribing qualification (V300).
Experience
Essential criteria
6. Demonstrates knowledge of policies, practices and procedures e.g. NHS national policies, standards, requirements and directions that relate to patient care.
7. Knowledge of anaesthetic screening processes, escalation pathways and indications for Consultant Anaesthetic review.
8. Ability to interpret clinical findings and investigations and escalate appropriately in line with Trust policy and anaesthetic guidelines.
Desirable criteria
9. Experience in managing/leading a team
10. Involvement in service development, pathway redesign, audit, or quality improvement, particularly related to optimisation or peri‑operative safety.
Skills
Essential criteria
11. Demonstrates an ability to prioritise own workload and responds appropriately to urgent and emergency situations
12. Communication and relationships: Able to present and receive complex information within a multi professional team. Ability to convey sensitive information in an empathetic manner to patients, relative/carers and staff
13. The post holder will be expected to be physically fit in order to manage to exert light physical effort for short periods and moderate effort for several short periods during a shift
Desirable criteria
14. Ability to contribute to policy development and strategic planning within Pre-Assessment or perioperative services.
15. Experience of acting in a deputy or senior nurse role, supporting service coordination or staffing.
Training
Essential criteria
16. Provides learning and development to other professionals within own work area and other clinical areas