Staff Nurse - Registered Mental Health Nurse

Overview

This position is located at HMP Swaleisde within the Primary Care Nursing Team. The post holder will collaborate closely with colleagues at nearby Kent prisons, including HMP Emley and HMP Standford Hill, and may occasionally provide cross-cover between sites.

• Deliver high‑quality, personalised, compassionate care to service users, providing a range of specialist interventions while ensuring high standards of practice and clinical excellence, complying with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct.
• Lead the delivery of comprehensive service user assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of patient‑centred care programmes across settings.
• Provide clinical supervision and support to junior colleagues, including students.
• Assist and support the manager to deliver a nurse‑led integrated care service and develop a specialist practice‑based clinical model of care.
• Maintain a safe and therapeutic working environment, collaborating with the Multi‑Disciplinary Team and keeping accurate records.
• Exercise personal and professional autonomy, planning and making complex and critical judgments within Trust policies, procedures and the NMC Code of Conduct.
• Deliver high‑quality clinical care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual needs of service users in a recovery‑focused way, in line with the NHS Plan, public health indicators and National Service Frameworks.
• Ensure fundamentals of care – nutrition, hydration, comfort, emotional and social support – are met.
• Demonstrate robust clinical skills with a sound understanding of evidence‑based nursing practice to provide a proactive, quality‑ and outcome‑driven approach day‑to‑day.
• Apply an enhanced understanding of mental health signs and symptoms, recognising their impact on patient presentation, behaviour and risk factors.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to challenging behaviour in line with Trust policies and training, supporting junior staff in managing difficult situations, de‑escalation and resilience strategies.

Band5 nursing roles are open to staff with a Nursing registration obtained as a result of completing a qualification recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).