Infectious Diseases Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job overview

The Infectious Diseases Assessment Room (IDAR) Band 7 Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) will provide expert nursing leadership and specialist clinical care for patients referred to the Infectious Diseases Assessment Room. The post holder will provide professional and clinical leadership for the IDAR service, supporting operational management, workforce development and service delivery. They will work autonomously, exercising advanced clinical judgement in the assessment and management of patients with complex infectious diseases and tropical medicine presentations. The post holder will lead quality improvement, governance, audit and education initiatives within the service and act as an expert clinical resource across the Trust. They will support strategic service development and deputise for the Lead Specialist Nurse when required. Working autonomously and as part of the multidisciplinary team, the CNS will facilitate timely access to specialist care, support admission avoidance where appropriate, improve patient flow, and ensure seamless transitions across acute, outpatient, and community services. The post holder will act as a clinical expert, educator, and resource for healthcare professionals, while contributing to service development, quality improvement, audit, and research activities.

Main duties of the job

Provide specialist assessment, triage and management of patients attending the Infectious Diseases Assessment Room (IDAR) with suspected or confirmed infectious and tropical diseases. Undertake clinical assessments, request investigations, interpret results within scope of practice, and escalate concerns where required.

Coordinate patient pathways from referral to discharge, ensuring timely access to specialist care and effective communication with primary, secondary, community and public health services. Work closely with Consultants, microbiology, pharmacy, infection prevention and control teams, and the wider multidisciplinary team.

Lead nurse-led clinics and ambulatory pathways, making autonomous decisions within agreed protocols. Support treatment plans, provide patient and carer education, and contribute to admission avoidance initiatives.

Act as a specialist resource for healthcare professionals, offering advice and guidance on infectious diseases and tropical medicine. Support the day-to-day operation of the IDAR service, promoting effective patient flow and resource utilisation.

Lead and participate in audit, quality improvement, service evaluation, education and training activities. Collect and analyse data to support governance, performance monitoring and service development.

Maintain NMC registration and comply with Trust policies relating to clinical governance, infection prevention and control, safeguarding, risk management and patient safety.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To view the main responsibility, please see the attached the Job Description and Person Specification.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.