Job overview
Interview Date: 23rd Oct 2025
The Intensive Care and High Dependency Units at Tunbridge Wells Hospital are recruiting Junior Sisters/Charge Nurses - Band 6 with Intensive Care experience to join their team.
The Intensive Care department has a total of 17 modern and spacious single rooms, with 9 Intensive Care beds and 8 High Dependency beds.
The applicants should detain, or be close to, achieving a post-registration qualification in Intensive Care Nursing, including completion of Steps 2 and 3 CC3N competencies.
We welcome and encourage applications from newly qualified nurses.
Main duties of the job
You should be dynamic, highly motivated, and have good communication and interpersonal skills alongside the ability to work as part of a team in order to provide high-quality evidence-based care.
This is the ideal opportunity to develop and consolidate your clinical, leadership, and managerial knowledge and skills.
The Senior Nursing team and ICU Matron will provide you with an exciting, enthusiastic, and supportive learning environment and assist you in achieving the Steps 4 CC3N Competencies, alongside other knowledge and skills required to undertake and succeed within the role.
Internal rotation to day and night shifts will be required.
Working for our organisation
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust ranks among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and was named the second-best Trust to work for in the South East in the 2023 and 2024 NHS Staff Survey.
We are a large acute hospital trust in south-east England, providing general hospital services and specialist care to around 600,000 residents in West Kent and East Sussex. With a dedicated and diverse team of over 8,000 staff we are proud to offer specialised cancer services to over two million people through the Kent Oncology Centre.
Fordcombe Hospital, near Tunbridge Wells, became part of the Trust in October 2024. Specialising in planned care, it offers two operating theatres, 28 inpatient and day-care beds, diagnostic services (X-ray, MRI, CT, and endoscopy), and consultation/treatment rooms.
Looking for flexible working?
We are a flexible working-friendly organisation. Whether it’s adjusting your hours or exploring other flexible arrangements, we want to work with you to find the best solution for you, our patients, and the Trust. Talk to us about how we can accommodate your working needs.
to hear what our staff say.
Joining us includes a comprehensive benefits package:
• At least 27 days of annual leave plus public/bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time staff).
• Membership in the NHS Pension Scheme, with a 20.6% employer contribution and life assurance benefits
• Blue Light card eligibility
• And more, additional benefits can be found in the benefits documents below
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We’ve provided all the details you need about this role in the job description and person specification. Please take a moment to review the criteria in the person specification and share specific examples in your application that demonstrate how you meet these requirements. Please also check your application for errors/omissions prior to submission.
Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children). If a role involves regulated activity and requires a DBS check with a barred list check, you cannot apply if you are on the barred list.
All successful applicants will be required to complete our corporate trust induction once a start date had been agreed.
Following your corporate induction you will be expected to attend the Trust’s 2-week Induction Programme for RNs, NAs, RMs, ODPs and Paramedics. The programme is full-time (please email if this is problematic) and will involve travel to both Trust sites. The programme includes supernumerary shifts in the clinical area, classroom-based sessions and e-learning.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. NMC registered RGN / RN (Adult)
2. Accredited Intensive Care Course
3. ILS
4. Epidural study day
5. IV drugs
Desirable criteria
6. Degree
7. ALS
8. Mentor qualification
Knowledge/ Experience
Essential criteria
9. Recent proven experience at a similar level within ICU or relevant experience
10. Relevant management skills
11. Evidence of insight/ understanding of current issues in nursing in the NHS
12. Computer/ IT skills
13. CVVH & Cardiac output monitoring skills.
Desirable criteria
14. Understanding of clinical audit
Skills
Essential criteria
15. Demonstrate a high level of interpersonal and communication skills
16. Demonstrate team leadership skills
17. Demonstrate effective time management
18. Ability to think logically, problem solve and use initiative, to achieve goals whilst acting within agreed policies, procedures and code of conduct.
19. Ability to support colleagues in stressful situations
20. Ability to concentrate on the changing needs of the unit for frequent periods, despite interruptions demands from others
21. Ability to deal with distressed relatives, care for the terminally ill and deal with the emotional consequences of critical/ terminal illness for patients/ relatives
22. Ability to reflect, accept constructive criticism and act accordingly