Diabetes Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job summary
We are looking to recruit an experienced Diabetes Specialist Nurse to join our team at Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

Are you a DSN who is enthusiastic, highly motivated and forward thinking, would you be keen to help us drive improvements in service delivery around in-patient care, antenatal, diabetes technology including insulin pump therapy?

Do you have experience of working as a diabetes specialist nurse with proven clinical skills / knowledge, acquired from time working as a DSN in diabetes clinics, in-patient care or community?

Or, do you have strong transferable skills and knowledge from a current band 7 role in areas such as oncology, stroke, liver, renal, spoke nursing, complex care and want to use these capabilities to support patients with diabetes.

The ideal candidate will already be a DSN or have strong transferable skills to step into an independent band 7 role. Be self-motivated, organised, computer literate and able to demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills and committed to service provision whilst maintaining own continual professional development.

This role will specifically support our in-patient service.

Main duties of the job
We aim to offer diabetes specialist nurses the opportunity to work in any area of our service over time, to ensure a broad range of diabetes knowledge, experience and skills. Our service covers in-patient, out-patient and community diabetes CNS roles, so a unique place to work for any Diabetes CNS wishing to progress in the professional.

Responsibilities include:

• To work as an autonomous practitioner and effectively co-ordinate and deliver an expert nursing service within diabetes
• To manage patients/client caseloads
• To ensure that patients and their families are fully informed and supported by providing clinical and social support
• To be involved in the development of evidence based clinical nursing practice in line with current research and guidelines
• To work collaboratively with colleagues
• To establish clear lines of communication with primary healthcare.
• To be involved in research/audit

We are a friendly team and a team who would support anyone new to our service.

If you are interested in applying for this role, please do contact the Diabetes CNS Lead for further details and/or to arranged an informal visit.

We ask that when completing your application, you clearly demonstrate where your skills and experience meet criteria for the role and your specific experience, skills and knowledge acquired since you became a DSN / PN or Spoke nurse.

About us
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust ranks among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and was named the second-best Trust to work for in the South East in the 2023 NHS Staff Survey.

We are a large acute hospital trust in south-east England, providing general hospital services and specialist care to around 600,000 residents in West Kent and East Sussex. With a dedicated and diverse team of over 8,000 staff we are proud to offer specialised cancer services to over two million people through the Kent Oncology Centre.

Fordcombe Hospital, near Tunbridge Wells, became part of the Trust in October 2024. Specialising in planned care, it offers two operating theatres, 28 inpatient and day-care beds, diagnostic services (X-ray, MRI, CT, and endoscopy), and consultation/treatment rooms.

Looking for flexible working? We are a flexible working-friendly organisation. Whether it's adjusting your hours or exploring other flexible arrangements, we want to work with you to find the best solution for you, our patients, and the Trust. Talk to us about how we can accommodate your working needs.

Joining us includes a comprehensive benefits package:

• At least 27 days of annual leave plus public/bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time staff).
• Membership in the NHS Pension Scheme , with a 20.6% employer contribution and life assurance benefits
• Blue Light card eligibility
• And more, additional benefits can be found in the benefits documents below

Job responsibilities
Weve provided all the details you need about this role in the job description and person specification. Please take a moment to review the criteria in the person specification and share specific examples in your application that demonstrate how you meet these requirements. Please also check your application for errors/omissions prior to submission.

Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children). If a role involves regulated activity and requires a DBS check with a barred list check, you cannot apply if you are on the barred list.

All successful applicants will be required to complete our corporate trust induction once a start date had been agreed.

Following your corporate induction you will be expected to attend the Trusts 2-week Induction Programme for RNs, NAs, RMs, ODPs and Paramedics.The programme is full-time (please email View email address on meeveem.com if this is problematic) and will involve travel to both Trust sites. The programme includes supernumerary shifts in the clinical area, classroom-based sessions and e-learning.

Person Specification
Qualification
Essential

• Level 1 NMC Adult Registered Nurse
• Relevant post registration qualification
• One of the following as a minimum - Diabetes Diploma/certificate or willingness to undertake, Non-Medical Independent Prescriber/ or willingness to undertake, teaching qualification or equivalent expert experience

Desirable

• Experience of managing diabetes in specialist clinics,( renal. pregnancy/gestational , pump, YAC)
• DAFNE qualification
• Mentorship qualification or willingness to undertake
• Counselling qualification or willingness to undertake
• Non-Medical Independent Prescriber/ Willingness to undertake.

Experience/Knowledge
Essential

• Post registration experience.
• Extensive knowledge of diabetes having previous experience in a DSN role.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team within diabetes.
• Experience of clinical supervision and mentoring junior staff/nursing students.
• Able to demonstrate understanding and empathy
• To contribute to the development of policies and protocols to improve patient care
• Critical application of detailed knowledge in the field of diabetes.
• Diabetes ward / practice experience and a willingness to develop using the Trend Career competency document.
• A working knowledge of the management of Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes
• Knowledge of diabetes specialist clinical treatments and technology

Desirable

• Experience with implementing change
• Knowledge of key resources
• Willingness to learn and acquire skills, training to meet needs of service.
• Knowledge of NSF and NICE Guidance for diabetes.
• Experience of teaching and presenting

Skills
Essential

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Computer literacy
• Good clinical assessment skills or willingness to develop these
• Good listening, observational and interpretive skills.
• Demonstrate effective teaching skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Have awareness of own limitations and when to seek advice from senior members of the team

Desirable

• Effective presentation skills
• Experience of undertaking research/audits programmes.
• Project management skills

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).