Go back Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist
The closing date is 22 October 2025
The aim of this role is to deliver an extended Addictions Service for street homeless individuals within the community. The post will focus on improving health and wellbeing, developing pathways into specialist and primary care services, and supporting partnership working. Key activities will include health promotion, general health screening, and facilitating access to organised healthcare.
This nurse-led role will provide general health clinics within hostels and for those who are street homeless, supporting individuals for whom traditional structured treatment may not be suitable, particularly those with ongoing alcohol use. The service will strengthen integrated pathways to prevent fragmented care and ensure a more coordinated and effective approach.
By promoting engagement with health services, the role aims to improve physical and mental health outcomes, reduce alcohol-related hospital admissions, address health inequalities, and enhance collaboration between community and hospital services. Delivery of care will align with CQC Quality Standards to ensure safety, quality, and consistency in supporting this vulnerable population.
Main duties of the job
Provide specialist drug and alcohol outreach clinics for local hostels, street homeless, GP surgeries, and community health settings, including follow-up with hard-to-engage clients. Work collaboratively with the GP Complex Patients Management team and multidisciplinary colleagues to deliver assessment, intervention, harm minimisation, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, and general health screening. Conduct physical health checks, wound care, and BBV testing, and administer vaccinations in line with CNWL policies.
Develop pathways to specialist and primary care services, ensure risk assessments, case manage complex clients, and coordinate care across agencies. Deliver training for hostel and primary care staff on brief interventions and out-of-hours support.Support safeguarding responsibilities, including child protection and work with pregnant clients affected by substance misuse. Promote harm reduction and ensure adherence to CQC and Trust standards.Maintain accurate electronic records, meet KPI requirements, and ensure data confidentiality. Participate in clinical supervision, staff development, and communication across multidisciplinary teams to enhance quality, safety, and engagement outcomes.
About us
CNWL- Addictions and Offender Care Directorates
CNWL Addictions is a well-established NHS provider offering a wide range of high-quality drug and alcohol treatment interventions to the diverse and multicultural population across Ealing, Brent, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Milton Keynes. In addition, we also have the tri-borough Club Drug Clinic as well as our National Problem Gambling Service.
The service is committed to a harm minimisation philosophy and to partnership working. Our main partners are primary care services, social and the third sectors.
Treatments are provided across all our clinical centres. Clinical Governance framework is well established and the service prides itself in its continuous development towards becoming a learning organisation.
Job responsibilities
For further information about the advertised role, please refer to the job description & person specification included in the documents section of this advert.
Personal/Professional Development and Training:
Be responsible for maintaining live registration with the NMC, and ensuring personal professional profile requirements are met.
To be directly accountable for own nursing practice and to operate in line with NMC code of professional conduct in relation to policies on direct patient care.
To undertake Operational and Strategic Line Management Supervision from the Service Co-ordinator.
To undertake Professional/Clinical Supervision as stated in the CNWL Supervision Policy on own clinical work and professional development plan.
To complete the CNWL annual appraisal/review process and personal development plans/objectives and identify own training needs
To participate in training initiatives as required both within the Sector and the wider professional community.
To keep up to date on evidence and practice in relation to dual diagnosis and to understand the significance of CPA and case management of drug/alcohol users with mental health problems.
To ensure all staff you hold responsibility for, receives appropriate line management and clinical supervision in line with Trust and NMC recommendations, participate in services appraisal system and have up to date Personal Development Plans.
To ensure that resources are available for all staff to pursue the completion of personal development plans.
To plan and implement training and skills development initiatives for staff you are responsible for.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
* RMN / RN
* Evidence of continuing personal development and post-registration training in the nursing care, assessment and treatment substance misuse clients.
* Diploma in Drugs and Alcohol Studies or equivalent qualification
* Training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
* Completed the Motivational Interviewing Training Module
Previous Experience
* Post-registration experience in Mental or general Health
* Experience in senior role and managing staff
* Experienced in the supply and administration of Hepatitis vaccines
* Experienced and competent in the supply and administration of CNWL Trust Hepatitis Patient Group Directions
* Extensive clinical experience
* Experience in undertaking Risk Assessments and Risk Management
* Teaching and Assessing qualification ENB 998 / SLICE or equivalent eg: mentorship
* Community Nursing Experience
* Experience of working in and delivering services to injecting drug users/street homeless cleints
* Experience of teaching others and willingness to undertake Teaching and Assessing qualification within six months of commencing post.
Skills and knowledge
* Sound clinical knowledge and understanding of current NHS policies and national drug issues/policies.
* Good verbal, written and presentation skills
* Good interpersonal skills in order to communicate and negotiate effectively, both inside and outside the Trust.
* Ability to work independently and to prioritise effectively
* Ability to assess and treat people with dual diagnosis
* Evidence of effective leadership and organisational skills.
* Evidence of the ability to work in a changing and stressful situation
* Evidence of ability to teach/disseminate knowledge and skills
* Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach, which considers the needs of the whole person.
* Able to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy, using good communication skills
* IT literate: competent using Microsoft Word and able to report clinical activity data on patient information systems
* Experience of working with stimulant users and people with alcohol problems.
* Experience of group facilitation
* Experience of managing a caseload within the community
* Awareness/knowledge of research skills
* Awareness of counselling models
* Motivational Interviewing skills / Relapse Management skills
* Committed to multidisciplinary team work
* Committed to User involvement
* Flexible & responsive to a developing service. The post holder must have the ability to understand and implement the Equal and Diversity policy at a level appropriate to the job
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
£53,751 to £60,651 a yearper annum inc HCAS pro rata
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