Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse

The Tissue Viability Clinical Nurse Specialist is responsible for providing expert leadership and specialist clinical support across University Hospitals Northamptonshire to improve skin integrity, prevent pressure ulcers, and enhance outcomes for patients with complex wounds.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing specialist assessment, treatment advice, and care planning for patients with complex wounds and tissue viability needs.
• Leading initiatives to prevent pressure ulcers, skin damage, and other avoidable tissue viability complications across the organisation.
• Acting as an expert clinical resource for nursing, medical, and multidisciplinary teams, offering guidance on wound management and dressing selection.
• Delivering education and training programmes to develop staff knowledge and competence in tissue viability and wound care.
• Providing visible clinical leadership, supporting best practice, quality improvement, and service development initiatives.
• Managing and supporting junior specialist nurses, including supervision, appraisal, coaching, and professional development.
• Undertaking audits, monitoring pressure ulcer prevalence and incidence, analysing data, and presenting findings to support service improvement and patient safety.
• Leading the development and implementation of policies, guidelines, care pathways, and evidence-based practice related to tissue viability.
• Participating in research, evaluation, and innovation projects to improve clinical outcomes and strengthen the evidence base for tissue viability care.
• Representing the Trust locally and nationally, promoting excellence in tissue viability services and supporting strategic organisational objectives.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Leadership

Provide expert clinical and professional advice and support to the multi-disciplinary team within the Trust and as appropriate within Primary care and other partner agencies. Provide clinical and professional leadership to support and inspire colleagues with regard to improving patient/client services in Tissue Viability and to support strategic planning of Tissue Viability service and the development of professional practice.

Monitor and record prevalence and incidence of patient pressure ulcers. Proactively lead the reduction of all types of skin damage (Category 4, 3, 2 & Unstageable pressure ulcers), Deep Tissue Injuries and Moisture-Associated Skin Damage. Provide visible leadership and clinical expertise on the wards and departments 60% of the time. Proactively develop innovative ways to promote skincare and reduce skin damage (recognising the need to utilise external opportunities to enhance knowledge & care).

Educate and support staff to manage complex wounds.

Patient and Client Care Developments

Provide and support an expert level of care to…