Colorectal Lead Nurse

Job overview

The Lead Colorectal Nurse is a senior advanced clinical practitioner responsible for the delivery, leadership and development of nurse‑led colorectal services across the Trust. The post holder provides autonomous assessment, diagnosis and management of patients with colorectal symptoms, ensuring safe, timely and high‑quality care aligned to national cancer and RTT standards.

The role combines advanced clinical practice with service leadership, workforce oversight and clinical governance responsibilities. The post holder will lead nurse‑led symptomatic and urgent suspected cancer pathways, provide professional leadership to the colorectal nursing workforce, and work closely with consultant colleagues, operational managers and primary care partners to optimise patient pathways and overall service performance.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide expert autonomous clinical practice, delivering a range of nurse‑led colorectal clinics including symptomatic assessment, urgent suspected cancer and follow‑up clinics. They will undertake advanced assessment, diagnostic decision‑making, independent prescribing and the requesting and interpretation of investigations. They will act as named clinician for defined surveillance cohorts and provide specialist advice to primary care with appropriate escalation to consultant surgeons.

The role includes leading the operational delivery and development of nurse‑led colorectal pathways, ensuring adequate clinic capacity, monitoring pathway performance and cancer standards, and contributing to demand‑and‑capacity planning and service improvement. The post holder will provide line management, leadership and supervision to the colorectal CNS workforce, supporting staff development, performance management and advanced practice competency.

They will act as a senior clinical leader within Trust governance structures, contributing to PSIRF processes, morbidity and mortality discussions, audit, quality improvement and compliance with professional standards. The role requires effective communication of complex information, close multidisciplinary working, and representation of colorectal nursing at internal and external forums. The post holder will maintain high professional standards and support education, research and ongoing development within the service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Our DCHFT Job Description and Person Specification (attached) tells you all about this role, what to expect and what is needed to succeed. When completing your application please make sure to tell us how your experience and skills fit the person specification.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you are unable to view or download the attachment.

For all our roles, we are looking for staff who hold our Trust Values of Integrity, Respect Teamwork and Excellence, and who are passionate about providing the best patient care. To read more about our Trust and our Values search Dorset County Hospital online.