Retrieve ACCTS Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner Peninsula region-Cornwall | Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Job description

About

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced senior clinician to join Retrieve as Peninsula Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner (Band 8a) on a 12-month fixed-term basis.

Retrieve is the South West’s dedicated Adult Critical Care Transfer Service (ACCTS), part of a national network of services commissioned by NHS England. Operating 24/7/365 from two bases, Peninsula (Launceston, Cornwall) and Severn (Bristol), we manage referrals and safely transfer critically ill and injured adults between hospitals across the region. Both bases deliver an identical service, so every patient in the South West gets equal access to our care.

We are looking for an experienced clinician with established management experience who is ready to take the next step in their career. You may come from a nursing or Allied Health Professional background, with a strong grounding in critical care, emergency medicine, anaesthetics, theatres or another high-acuity setting. You will be a confident leader and a professional role model, with a passion for improving care for some of the sickest patients in our region.

This is a rare chance to lead in a unique, high-profile regional service, to influence how critical care transfers are delivered across the South West and nationally, and to develop your leadership career in a supportive, forward-thinking team.

If you’re ready for your next challenge, we’d love to hear from you.

As Peninsula Base Lead, you will be responsible for the operational delivery and continued development of the base. You will lead and inspire a skilled multi-professional team, drive quality improvement, and work in close partnership with the Severn Base Lead, Clinical Director and Base Lead Consultants to shape the service across the South West. You will also oversee training and education, manage the service budget, and use audit and data to measure our performance against national quality indicators.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.  

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.  

 Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge. 

As Peninsula Base Lead Nurse/Practitioner, you will:

• Lead and be a role model for the multi-professional team, making sure clinical care is of the highest quality and in line with national guidance and the NHS England Service Specification.

·        In partnership with the Clinical Director, Base Lead Consultants and key stakeholders develop and maintain up to date, evidence-based transfer protocols and guidelines.

·         

• Oversee the Training and Education team to support the delivery of a high-quality in-house education programme that develops and maintains the skills of the team.

• Develop and deliver the Peninsula base strategy and business plan, working closely with the Severn Base Lead to keep the service consistent across both bases.

• Co-lead clinical governance, including protocols, complaints, incidents, risk and audit benchmarked against NHS England Quality Indicators.

• Manage the Peninsula base budget,

• Advocate for patients and families, and work closely with Critical Care Units, partner services and contractors across the South West.

• Use transfer data, trends and incident reports to manage risk and continuously improve the service.

• Monitor staffing, absence, training compliance and resources, and recruitment.

• Make sure data submitted to national databases is accurate and timely, and that documentation meets professional and Retrieve standards.

• Represent Retrieve regionally and nationally, including through the South West Critical Care Network Transfer Group and the national ACCTS Operational & Clinical Group

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details.

For an informal discussion, please contact Caroline Hindley Peninsula base Lead Nurse 07885589223

This advert closes on Wednesday 18 Nov 2026