Staff Nurse - Surgical HDU

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Job Description:
University Hospitals Southampton (UHS) Critical Care Units are renowned for our local and national contribution to Critical Care and for consistently delivering high standards of clinical care. We are very proud of our developments and our service has expanded enabling us to actively recruit.

UHS is one of only two places in the south of England to offer adults and children full onsite major trauma care provision. UHS has a 25 bed General Intensive care that works very closely with the team on surgical high dependency as well as specialist neuro intensive care unit and cardiac intensive care unit.

UHS is a designated major trauma centre and has general and specialist critical care areas which were awarded ‘outstanding’ for leadership in our recent CQC inspection in which the Trust overall rating was ‘Good’.

The Surgical High Dependency Unit (SHDU) is a 10 bedded elective unit, caring for patients immediately post operatively after a variety of specialist surgery including Hepato-biliary pancreatic, colo-rectal, upper GI, vascular and more. SHDU pride themselves in providing exceptional standards of nursing and medical care.

SHDU is currently seeking applications from Staff Nurses to join our motivated, friendly and supportive team. We are looking for nurses who would like to work in critical care and offer you a unique opportunity to work in SHDU to gain a wide range of clinical expertise and professional growth for your career development.

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.

Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalizing your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

At UHS, we’re committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.

At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We’re committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide a high standard of individualised patient care, in accordance with agreed policies and within available resources, which has the Trust core values at its heart.
• Demonstrate the aptitude to work in highly pressurised situations with maturity, motivation, enthusiasm and common sense.
• Commit to working flexibly, in collaboration with an established team, developing critical care skills to become a skilled member of the nursing team which cares for critically ill patients in a complex and challenging environment.

Professional/Clinical Duties:

• Maintain high standards of nursing care and ensure that nursing objectives are achieved using a systematic approach to nursing care.
• Assess, plan, deliver and evaluate individualised patient centred care and provide support and advice to other staff as appropriate.
• Receive patients and their relatives in accordance with recognised policies and ensure that they are kept informed of treatment and progress.
• Arrange the care of patient's property, in accordance with Unit policies and within the limitations of hospital responsibilities.
• Liaise with all members of the multi-professional team to ensure that all treatments are correctly carried out in accordance with given policy.
• Give and receive regular reports on the progress of patients, reporting immediately any changes in the patients’ condition to the senior qualified nurse on duty or the medical staff as appropriate.
• Maintain accurate records of observation, treatment and care.
• Participate in the checking and administration of prescribed drugs (including controlled drugs) and other substances in accordance with Trust policy.
• Inform the Sister/Charge Nurse of any untoward incidents or problems affecting patients/staff/relatives and visitors.
• Adhere to the NMC Code of Conduct and Trust policies and procedures. Be familiar with the location of current files, and maintain up-to-date knowledge of resuscitation, major incident/fire & child protection procedures.
• Act as a positive role model, demonstrating sound clinical judgement.
• Co-ordinate the requirements and take part in the transfer of patients to other departments within the Trust.
• Maintain good liaison with other nursing units and other hospital departments.
• Be familiar with and ensure all medical equipment is functional, reporting any faults or potential hazards and arranging for replacement as necessary.
• Actively contribute to ideas for enhancing patient care using evidence based practice.

Learning and Development:

• Help create an environment that is conducive to learning and development.
• Be involved in teaching of all grades of staff as appropriate.
• Support other trained nurses in the Continuous Assessment of Practice for learners and the assessment of competencies.
• Take personal responsibility in professional self-development in order to achieve a minimum of the NMC PREP requirements for trained nurses.
• Keep up-to-date with clinical developments, and participate in innovation and change concerned with improving the standards of care for patients.
• Participate in ward based research and audit as required.
• Attend meetings on matters relating to the ward/unit during work hours.

The Critical Care Education team provides structured support to all staff and runs development programmes that are well established. The formal education package follows a structured career pathway which includes induction training, and an in-house Foundation to Critical Care Nursing programme and Leadership programme.

All staff follow a Nationally recognised competency package. There are opportunities to apply for the High Dependency Course modules at both Degree and Masters level.

Successful applicants have the opportunity to actively participate in Critical Care issues at Trust, National and International levels. With this varied and complex case mix, a commitment to developing our roles in a visionary manner makes this an excellent opportunity to gain a rewarding career within Critical Care.