Associate Clinical Nurse Specialist (ACNS) in Palliative Care

Job overview

We’re delighted to offer a brand new role within our supportive, multi-professional palliative care team. This is a great opportunity for a motivated nurse to develop skills in specialist community palliative care while working closely with an experienced Band 7 Clinical Nurse Specialist.

You’ll help manage a community caseload, delivering high-quality, person-centred care to people with complex palliative and end-of-life needs. With supervision and support, you’ll build confidence in holistic assessment, care planning, and symptom management—making a meaningful difference to patients and their families.

Main duties of the job

What you’ll do

• Deliver safe, effective, person-centred palliative care in the community
• Support holistic assessment, care planning, and ongoing review
• Manage a supported caseload, including triage of referrals
• Work collaboratively with patients, families, and the MDT to ensure coordinated care
• Provide skilled interventions to support symptom control and quality of life
• Contribute to team learning, service development, and quality improvement

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job purpose:

• This is a new role to our multi-professional palliative care team. The role will involve working with a Band 7 Clinical Nurse Specialist to pro-actively manage a community palliative care patient caseload.
• Working with more senior colleagues, the post holder will develop skills and expertise in holistic palliative care assessment and care, working in a multi-professional team.
• To support the CNS/CPS team in delivering clinically effective, efficient, and high-quality care to individuals with complex palliative care needs.
• The role involves working with the MDT to assess, plan, and support the clinical management of a shared caseload of patients and their families, working collaboratively with other healthcare providers to ensure holistic and coordinated care.

Main duties and responsibilities:

Clinical Practice

• Practise as an accountable registered nurse, delivering safe, high‑quality, person‑centred palliative care in line with NMC standards, Trust policies, and service guidelines, with access to senior clinical supervision.
• With Band 7 supervision undertake holistic palliative care assessment, care planning, and review for patients with complex palliative care needs.
• Proactively manage an allocated caseload with Band 7 support, including triage and prioritisation of new referrals.
• Deliver skilled nursing interventions to optimise symptom control, quality of life, and end‑of‑life care.
• With Band 7 supervision work collaboratively with patients, families, carers, multidisciplinary teams, and partner agencies to support shared decision‑making, coordinated care, and clear care pathways.
• Recognise and escalate deterioration, safeguarding concerns, and crises in accordance the team standard operating procedures and with organisational policy.
• Identify anticipatory, psychosocial, and bereavement needs, facilitating timely support and referral.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and contribute to audit, activity reporting, and quality improvement.

Professional & Team Contribution

• With Nad 7 support organise and prioritise workload effectively with senior colleagues to meet service demands.
• Participate in team, multidisciplinary, service, and Trust meetings, contributing to case discussion, service development, and learning.
• Support learning for students, and visitors, with appropriate guidance.
• Comply with Health and Safety requirements and report incidents, complaints, and risks appropriately.
• Engage in supervision, reflective practice, CPD, and service development activities.

Education & Development

• Contribute to internal education and learning activities that support high‑quality palliative care practice.
• Maintain and update professional knowledge and skills through mandatory training, CPD, and relevant education, sharing learning with the team.

Research, Audit & Governance

• Participate in research, audit, service evaluation, and clinical governance activities with senior support.
• Apply evidence‑based guidance, research findings, and national policy to clinical practice.

Communication

• Communicate sensitive and complex information effectively with patients, carers, colleagues, and partner agencies.
• Ensure appropriate information sharing, including provision of correspondence to patients in line with Trust policy.
• Escalate concerns or complaints promptly to the Team Leader and contribute to presentations or training when required.