Clinical Nurse Specialist, Wound Healing

Job overview

The Wound Healing Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is a key member of the Wound Healing Service and Integrated Neighbourhood senior clinical workforce, providing expert leadership and specialist knowledge to improve wound healing outcomes across the city.

This dynamic and influential role combines advanced clinical practice, education, quality improvement, governance, service development, and research to drive excellence in wound care across community services. The post holder will lead on the development and implementation of evidence-based wound healing strategies, supporting the delivery of safe, effective, equitable, and patient-centred care.

Working across community and neighbourhood teams, the CNS will provide highly specialist clinical advice, leadership, supervision, and support to multidisciplinary colleagues managing patients with complex wounds and those at risk of wound development. The role includes direct patient assessment and intervention, clinical escalation, case review, and the management of complex wound healing challenges, ensuring patients receive timely access to specialist expertise and optimised treatment pathways.

Successful applicants will be required to provide an immunisation and vaccination report, from either their current UK occupational health provider or their UK GP.

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The Wound Healing Clinical Nurse Specialist will provide expert clinical leadership for wound prevention and management across the city, working collaboratively with community, neighbourhood and multidisciplinary teams to improve patient outcomes and promote excellence in wound care

Key responsibilities include:

• Specialist clinical leadership and advice.
• Complex wound assessment and management.
• Education, training and workforce development.
• Clinical supervision and professional support.
• Quality improvement, audit and governance.
• Research, innovation and service development.
• Partnership working and pathway development.
• Supporting city-wide wound healing strategy and excellence in care.

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.

We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.

Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.

We are proud to be recognised as a Pathway to Excellence® designated organisation – please click the link for further details about this prestigious award. Pathway To Excellence ® - University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (uhcw.nhs.uk)

By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.

The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for leading and delivering wound healing education and clinical skills development across the workforce, fostering a culture of continuous learning and excellence in practice. They will support clinicians through supervision, coaching, competency assessment, and the translation of evidence into practice, ensuring staff are confident and competent to deliver high-quality wound care.

As a senior clinical leader, the CNS will play a pivotal role in clinical governance, quality assurance, incident investigation, and service evaluation. They will adopt a systematic approach to monitoring outcomes, identifying opportunities for improvement, and driving quality improvement initiatives that enhance patient experience and clinical effectiveness.

The role will also champion innovation and research within wound healing, supporting the implementation of new technologies, evidence-based interventions, and service developments that improve outcomes and efficiency. Working collaboratively with partners across healthcare organisations, the post holder will contribute to the development of integrated wound healing pathways and strategic priorities for the organisation.

In addition, the CNS will provide professional and clinical leadership to members of the Wound Healing Team, ensuring staff deliver responsive, evidence-based care in accordance with Trust policies, clinical guidelines, pathways, and standard operating procedures. Through effective leadership and workforce development, the post holder will ensure the service remains at the forefront of best practice in wound healing and prevention.

• Represent wound care service at local meetings
• Work autonomously and take the lead for wound care provision within the allocated locality working closely with Lead Nurse for oversight
• Be responsible for providing specialist wound care advice, support and guidance within the group
• Comply with Trust policies and procedures
• Identify, facilitate and lead the implementation of wound provision, best practice, guidance and frameworks across services to incorporate evidence based practice into operational delivery
• Be required to undertake investigation of complaints, considering complex and sensitive information from a wide range of sources, formulating outcomes and recommendations and learning to be taken forward.
• Take responsibility for ensuring own annual personal development review.
• To maintain an extensive and contemporary knowledge of tissue viability and wound care provision by participating in ongoing education and research
• As a Specialist Practitioner, actively support the effective triage of new referrals to the wound care service and support the Tissue Viability team to organise/provide necessary care/treatment and follow up in line with national guidance to this patient group
• Ability to competently and safely set up, undertake and interpret wound prevention and care associated activities. For example, Doppler, Toe Doppler, Topical Negative Pressure, Compression Bandaging, Larval Therapy
• Be required to compile and edit reports, where speed and accuracy is required.
• Be required to undertake formal presentations
• Will require key board skills, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Power Point.
• Highly developed physical skills commensurate to the post holder’s professional background

For further details please see the attached job description.

A full UK driving license is essential for this post. Please note that an international driving license is not accepted.

To ensure that we provide world-class patient care, UHCW recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust’s Values and Behaviours in their everyday life. Therefore, if you are invited to interview, you will be undertaking a Values Based Interview/Assessment, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s Values and Behaviours which can be accessed on the right side of this page under the job description.
The Supporting Information Section in your application should therefore reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated Behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviour.

The Trust is committed to Equal Opportunities within the workplace. All vacancies will be considered for Job Share unless otherwise stated. All applicants who have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be interviewed. Where a post has an overwhelming response, this Trust may use random selection in order to reduce numbers to interview, any disabled applicants will automatically be guaranteed an interview and will be exempt from this process.

In submitting an application form, you authorise University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you, including Occupational Health data (inoculations and screening tests). This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third-party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post.

UHCW NHS Trust, by virtue of its Green Plan, is committed to ensuring that the way we provide services minimises the impact on the environment and the future health of the public e.g. zero waste to landfill, reducing our carbon footprint and increasing our recycling and reuse percentages.

If you are successful at interview you will receive a conditional offer of employment and we’ll ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete all pre-employment checks to progress to a final unconditional offer.

We must confirm the identity of our staff and their right to work in the United Kingdom. We will ask you to submit proof of your identity and right to work documents via a secure digital platform approved by the Home Office, named TrustID. Alternatively, you may be asked to attend our office with original documents.

Depending on you level of exposure with patients you may be required to undertake a Standard or Enhanced DBS. The cost of this check will be charged to you and will be deducted from your salary over the first 3 months of employment at the current rate.

All correspondence will be sent by email; please check your account regularly including your Junk/SPAM folders