Job summaryAre you a skilled and compassionate nurse looking to make a meaningful difference to patients and families facing life-limiting illness?
St Elizabeth Hospice continues to drive forward innovation and development of services, both in Ipswich and East Suffolk and further up the coast to the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area. In 2019 NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB awarded the specialist palliative and end-of-life care contract to East Coast Community Healthcare. The contract includes a specialist palliative care service which is delivered in partnership with St Elizabeth Hospice.
This is an exciting time for St Elizabeth Hospice, as we are developing an achievable and sustainable palliative and end-of-life care service for the residents of Great Yarmouth and Waveney. Its a time of expansion, development and investment in the hospice team. We are seeking an experienced Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our dedicated Community Specialist Palliative Care Team. This is an exciting opportunity to provide expert palliative and end of life care within a dynamic hospice service that supports patients and their families across the community and our community care units. This is a chance to make a real difference to peoples lives.
If you are committed to delivering outstanding palliative care and want to be part of a hospice that places compassion, dignity, and excellence at the heart of everything it does, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the jobWe are looking for a registered nurse who has:
- Current NMC registration.
- Significant post-registration clinical experience.
- Experience in palliative care, oncology, community nursing, hospice care, or a related specialty.
- Excellent communication, assessment, and clinical decision-making skills.
- Ability to work autonomously whilst thriving as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
- Passion for teaching, supporting, and developing others.
- Compassionate, patient-centred approach to care.
As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, you will:
- Provide specialist palliative nursing care and holistic support to patients with complex needs and their families.
- Undertake comprehensive assessments, care planning, and symptom management interventions.
- Deliver support through telephone advice, home visits, and care within our outpatient locations.
- Act as a key point of contact and advocate for patients and families throughout their care journey.
- Work collaboratively with GPs, district nurses, hospital teams, care homes, and other healthcare professionals.
- Offer specialist advice, guidance, and education to colleagues and partner organisations.
- Contribute to service development and the continuous improvement of patient care and experiences.
Location: Great Yarmouth & Waveney area base to be confirmed
Hours: Part time - 30 hours per week
Interview Date: 24 September 2026
About usOur most recent Care Quality Commission report rated the hospice as Outstanding.
If you would like an opportunity to find out some more about working at the hospice and how it can fit your own career aspirations, we recommend an informal visit/discussion prior to you completing your application
The hospice offers a generous benefit package, including:
- 27 days annual leave entitlement
- Pension scheme
- Life Cover
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Car Leasing Scheme
- Health Service Discounts
- Occupational Sick Pay
- Blue Light Card
- Employee Assistance Programme
St Elizabeth Hospice is committed to safeguarding and protecting the adults and young people that we work with and has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, neglect and discrimination of any person. As such, all posts are subject to a rigorous safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We have a range of robust safeguarding policies in place which promote safeguarding across the hospice and staff are expected to undertake regular, mandatory safeguarding training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to identify and respond to potential risks.
Job responsibilitiesJob summary:To provide specialist palliative nursing care to patients and their families within a service that works every day, by phone, by visits and advising and teaching others within the community and at our community unit locations.
Safeguarding responsibilities:- To demonstrate a commitment to keeping adults and young people safe
- To report any disclosure made to you to the appropriate person
- To report any safeguarding concerns in the workplace to the appropriate person
- To maintain an awareness of the hospices policies in relation to safeguarding
Key responsibilities:- To work within a team providing specialist palliative care to patients, within a community setting, community care units and care homes.
- Supporting carers and other providers delivering care, through the advice line, training and education.
- To undertake in-depth holistic assessments of patients with palliative care needs, regardless of their diagnosis, and plan care to meet patient outcomes. To provide information, advice, psychological and spiritual care to patients, their families and carers, liaising and referring on as necessary to appropriate healthcare professionals in the Hospice, hospital and community.
- To visit patients and families when a specialist consultation is needed and the patient is unable to travel, or seeing patients in the community clinic.
- To provide telephonic support to patients, families and other professionals provided during working hours.
- To attend and participate in multi-disciplinary palliative care meetings around patient care management, and present patients at the community MDT and to the caseload reviewer.
- Provide a rapid response service for patients needing urgent specialist care. Providing care as needed such as drugs, position changes and interventions, if appropriate to improve the comfort of the patient, or advising others to do so.
- To represent the Hospice and patients at meetings, as required.
- To maintain and promote effective and efficient working and communication with all involved in the patient, to ensure appropriate sharing of information.
- To provide support and expertise to other professionals, as required, acting as a role model and a resource providing expert knowledge and support.
- To supervise junior roles to be responsible for supervision, annual appraisals and delegation of workload.
- To comply with relevant drug policies, including Non-Medical Prescribing and legislation concerning drugs and administration.
- To attend Gold Standard Framework (GSF) meetings.
- To have an understanding of safeguarding principles and be able to apply these within everyday practice and intervention/within your role.
- To work with the Community CNSs and Team Leader, to plan and implement change and development within the Community Service where this would increase effectiveness and efficiency of practice.
- To work with the Head of Therapy & Community Care Units and the Community Team Leader, to plan and implement change and development within the Community.
- To work as part of a team to ensure the priorities of the service are met especially in times of absences and high demand. To adapt to the pressures of changing demands, day-to-day.
- To manage patient caseloads, ensuring good communication, planning and reviews.
- To participate in education and training.
- To maintain patient statistics, and comprehensive patient records. Making sure that other nurses are able to carry on with the caseload easily in your absence, when needed.
- To participate in the development of clinical standards, research and clinical audit, working within the Clinical Governance Framework of the Hospice and in palliative care in general.
- To record all equipment loaned out, ensuring records are kept up to date and that equipment is returned.
- To work autonomously making decisions, but seeking advice from colleagues or/and senior clinical team, as needed.
Responsibilities for all staff:- Act as a positive ambassador for St Elizabeth Hospice
- Where the postholder is a member of a professional body, comply to the professional standards set by that body. Ensure registration is current and practice continuous professional development.
- Because of the special nature of the hospice and its work, the postholder may on occasion be asked to undertake other duties to help maintain our high standards of care and engagement.
Person SpecificationSpecific SkillsEssential- High level of organisational skills.
- Able to prioritise and time manage work.
- Good problem solver.
- Ability to support others to reach their own decisions.
- Able to work independently and within a team.
- Able to analyse complex patient information.
- IT literate.
ExperienceEssential- Minimum 2 years experience in palliative care/oncology/or community nursing
- Experienced in providing palliative advice and support to end of life patients, families and other professionals.
- Experienced in assessing patient needs that may be complex and subject to change.
- Knowledge of the wider palliative care agenda.
- Negotiation skills.
- Good knowledge of community care.
- Have an understanding of safeguarding principles and be able to apply these within everyday practice and intervention/within your role.
Desirable- Advanced communication skills.
- Project Management.
- Service Development.
- Working in the community and in the patients own home.
Personal QualitiesEssential- Work well under pressure.
- Problem solver.
- Reflective in order to improve own practise.
- Highly motivated team player.
- Own transport and current driving licence.
QualificationsEssential- State Registered Nurse with current NMC registration.
- Educated to degree level.
- Educationalist qualification or proven teaching experience.
Desirable- Educated to Masters level or working towards, in palliative care or a similar related qualification.
- Advanced communication course.
- Nurse prescriber.
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.Applicants must have current UK professional registration. 
