Senior Community Nurse (OPAT)

Job summary

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

In Partnership with University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS)

Are you an experienced nurse looking for a leadership opportunity within an innovative and growing service?

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Community OPAT Sister/Charge Nurse to help establish and develop a new Community Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) Service across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Working in partnership with University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, this exciting new service will support patients to receive intravenous antimicrobial therapy safely within community settings and their own homes, while contributing to the development of a wider community IV therapy service.

This is a unique opportunity to help establish both Community OPAT and IV therapy services, influencing service development, shaping clinical pathways, and ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality care across organisational boundaries.

As a Band 6 Community OPAT Sister/Charge Nurse, you will provide clinical leadership, coordinate complex patient pathways and act as a specialist resource for staff and stakeholders. You will work closely with acute OPAT teams, infectious diseases specialists, microbiologists, pharmacists and community services to ensure seamless patient care and excellent clinical outcomes.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership and day-to-day coordination of the Community OPAT Service
• Manage a complex caseload of patients receiving intravenous antimicrobial therapy
• Support admission avoidance and facilitate timely hospital discharge
• Support the development and delivery of community IV therapy services alongside the Community OPAT Service
• Lead on clinical governance, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives
• Supervise, support and develop Band 5 staff, students and learners
• Work collaboratively with acute Trust colleagues to develop integrated OPAT pathways
• Contribute to service development, audit and performance monitoring
• Promote antimicrobial stewardship and evidence-based practice

What We're Looking For

• Registered Nurse (Adult) with current NMC registration
• At least 2 years post-registration experience
• Experience of intravenous therapy and complex patient management
• Demonstrable leadership, supervision and mentoring experience
• Excellent communication and partnership-working skills
• Experience of audit, quality improvement and clinical governance
• Full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes

What We Offer

• The opportunity to shape and develop new specialist OPAT and community IV therapy services
• Leadership development opportunities
• Access to specialist OPAT and antimicrobial stewardship training
• Strong support from both community and acute care teams

A mandatory requirement of this role is car driver and owner

About us

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Details

• Date posted: 19 August 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 6
• Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year Based on full time hours
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time
• Reference number: 348-SSW-12188
• Job locations: Oakley Road, Millbrook, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 4GX, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.

UK Registration

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