District Nurse Team Lead

The District Nurse Team Lead is a senior clinical and leadership role within the Community Nursing Service, responsible for delivering high-quality, patient-centred care to individuals in their own homes and community settings. The post holder will provide clinical leadership, operational management and professional support to the District Nursing Team, ensuring safe, effective and evidence-based care is delivered across the locality. They will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams, primary care colleagues, social care partners and other agencies to promote independence, prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and support patients with complex, long-term and palliative care needs.

The role contributes to the wider objectives of North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) by fostering excellence in clinical practice, supporting workforce development and driving continuous service improvement.

• Provide clinical leadership, operational management and professional support to the District Nursing Team within the locality.
• Manage and prioritise team workloads to ensure effective service delivery and safe patient care.
• Deliver and maintain a high standard of clinical practice, undertaking direct patient care for a significant proportion of the working week.
• Undertake comprehensive assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care for patients with complex health needs.
• Lead clinical decision-making and support patients and families to achieve optimum levels of health and self-care.
• Work collaboratively with GPs, acute services, social care, voluntary organisations and other healthcare professionals to coordinate patient care.
• Support staff development through supervision, mentorship, appraisal, training and performance management.
• Lead and contribute to clinical audit, research, quality improvement initiatives and service development projects.
• Ensure compliance with Trust policies, professional standards, clinical governance and risk management requirements.
• Support recruitment, retention and workforce planning, promoting a positive and inclusive team culture.
• Act as a clinical role model, promoting evidence-based practice and continuous professional development.
• Maintain accurate clinical documentation and ensure effective use of electronic patient record systems.

The District Nurse Team Lead is responsible for providing strong clinical, professional and operational leadership within the Community Nursing Service. As an autonomous Registered Nurse, the post holder will be accountable for assessing, planning, delivering and evaluating care for patients with complex, chronic, acute and palliative care needs within community settings. They will work in partnership with patients, families and carers to promote independence, enhance health outcomes and support self-management wherever possible.

The post holder will spend a significant proportion of their time maintaining clinical practice to ensure their skills and knowledge remain current and relevant. They will undertake specialist holistic assessments, develop evidence-based care plans and provide expert clinical advice and leadership to colleagues. They will support safe discharge planning from acute services, contribute to public health initiatives and work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to deliver integrated care.

A key aspect of the role involves workforce leadership and service management. The post holder will support the recruitment, induction, supervision, appraisal and development of staff, ensuring team members receive appropriate clinical supervision, mentorship and training opportunities. They will lead team meetings, contribute to workforce planning and skill-mix development, and support performance management processes where required.

The District Nurse Team Lead will actively promote a culture of continuous learning, quality improvement and professional excellence. Responsibilities include leading clinical audits, participating in research activities, contributing to policy and guideline development, and ensuring services meet clinical governance, safeguarding, risk management and quality standards. The post holder will investigate incidents and complaints as required, implementing learning to improve patient care and service delivery.

The role requires highly developed communication and interpersonal skills to build and maintain effective working…