Specialist Nurse - Addictions Care Team

Job overview

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of people affected by alcohol and substance use? The Addictions Care Team at King’s College Hospital, in partnership with South London and Maudsley Addictions, is looking for a motivated and compassionate nurse to join our service.

There are 2 roles, one for each of our sites: King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill and the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH). While staff will be primarily based at one location, some cross-site working is required to ensure consistent service delivery.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a specialist role that supports patients across inpatient wards and the Emergency Department. You’ll be part of a multidisciplinary team focused on improving care, reducing hospital admissions, and supporting safe discharge planning for individuals with alcohol and substance use disorders.

We don’t expect you to be an expert in addictions, what matters most is your interest in the field and your ability to connect with this client group. Whether you’ve worked in mental health, community services, or supported vulnerable individuals in other settings, we welcome examples in your application of your interest in the role and how you’ve built trust, delivered care, and made a positive impact.

Training and supervision will be provided, and you’ll be supported to grow your skills in assessment and interventions.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist assessments and brief interventions for patients with alcohol or substance use issues.

• Collaborate with patients to develop safe discharge plans and reduce re-attendance.

• Respond promptly to referrals—aiming to see A&E patients within 1 hour and inpatients within 24 hours.

• Liaise with ward staff, community teams, and other professionals to ensure continuity of care.

• Participate in physical and mental health risk assessments, including safeguarding.

• Maintain accurate clinical documentation and contribute to service data collection.

• Act as a role model and advocate for the Addictions Care Team across hospital wards.

• Support staff training and promote screening and brief interventions among KCH teams.

• Mentor nursing students and contribute to team development.

• Represent the team in meetings and forums when required.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Addictions Care Team is a partnership between King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley Addictions. The service is led by SLaM with the clinical team being a mix of SLaM and KCH employed staff.

The team aims to improve the clinical care that patients receive while at KCH. We aim to reduce admissions, length of stay and re presentation to KCH for patients with alcohol and substance use disorders.

The role of the Alcohol and Drug Specialist Nurse is primarily to provide assessment, brief advice and onward referral as required to current inpatients and those that present to the Emergency department at Kings College Hospital who have alcohol and/or other substance use disorders.

If a non-medical prescriber will prescribe according trust guidelines and within scope of practice, only relate to work within the Addiciton Care Team and with supervision of the consultant or senior nurse in the team.

The post holder will also provide advice and training to KCH staff, and will liaise with local service providers to ensure continuity of care.

The Team works across both Denmark hill and the Princess Royal Site with staff mainly based at one site though can be asked to work across sites as required.

It is not expected that applicants will be experts in addictions and training will be provided, though some applicable experience and interest in the role will be required.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• 1st level Registered General Nurse or Registered Mental Health Nurse
• Further professional studies relevant to the clinical area or interest in developing knowledge

Desirable criteria

• Non-medical prescriber or willingness to work towards this
• Mentorship qualification

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Experience working with patients with alcohol and drug dependency, in any applicable healthcare role
• Knowledge of common pharmacological treatments for alcohol and drug dependency

Desirable criteria

• Experience in delivering brief interventions
• Experience in the psychosocial assessment of patients with substance misuse problems
• Experience in a specialist nurse liaison role
• Experience supervising/mentoring others in a clinical setting
• Experience of teaching in a clinical setting

skills

Essential criteria

• Communication skills – able to relate and communicate with patients and staff at all levels and from different professions. Adapts communication style as necessary and is able to work with and through others.
• Able to carry out risk assessments
• Able to use Excel and have good keyboard skills
• Ability to manage and prioritise effectively own time and clinical case load, Effective time management and prioritisation skills
• Ability to escalate concerns appropriately
• Commitment to equal opportunities

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

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