Stroke Nurse Specialist

Job Overview

The Band 6 Acute Stroke Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is a senior registered nurse who provides expert clinical care, assessment, and coordination for patients admitted with suspected or confirmed stroke. The role focuses on delivering evidence-based stroke care, supporting timely diagnosis and treatment, and ensuring patients receive high-quality, person-centred care.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Undertaking specialist assessment and management of stroke patients within the acute pathway.
• Supporting rapid access to stroke treatments, including thrombolysis and thrombectomy pathways where appropriate.
• Coordinating multidisciplinary care to optimise patient outcomes.
• Providing expert advice and education to patients, families, and healthcare professionals regarding stroke management and recovery.
• Monitoring clinical progress, identifying complications, and escalating concerns appropriately.
• Contributing to service development, quality improvement initiatives, audit, and compliance with national stroke standards.
• Acting as a resource for the wider clinical team, supporting staff education and development in stroke care.

The Band 6 CNS works autonomously while collaborating closely with stroke consultants and emergency departments to ensure seamless, safe, and effective care acute stroke care.

Main duties of the job

• Assess and manage patients presenting with suspected or confirmed stroke.
• Support rapid assessment and delivery of acute stroke treatments.
• Provide specialist stroke advice to patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary care and discharge planning.
• Monitor patient progress and escalate clinical concerns appropriately.
• Ensure compliance with stroke guidelines and quality standards.
• Deliver education and training to ward staff and junior colleagues.
• Participate in audit, service improvement, and data collection activities.
• Act as a key link between acute, rehabilitation, and community stroke services.
• Maintain accurate clinical documentation and contribute to governance activities.

Working for our organisation

Why Join Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust?

At Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, our people are at the heart of everything we do.

As a Disability Confident Employer and recipient of the Gold Award in the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme, we actively champion equality, diversity and inclusion, creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds to build rewarding careers within the NHS.

We also recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance. By supporting flexible working arrangements wherever possible, we enable our colleagues to balance their professional and personal commitments while continuing to deliver outstanding care to our patients. Whether flexibility means adjusted hours, part-time working, hybrid arrangements or alternative working patterns, we work in partnership with our staff to meet both individual and service needs.

Join Us

Whether you're at the start of your career or looking for your next challenge, Frimley Health offers the opportunity to be part of a inclusive, forward-thinking organisation that is committed to excellence, innovation and compassionate care. Together, we can shape the future of healthcare and make a real difference to the lives of the communities we serve.

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Role Summary

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Band 6 Acute Stroke CNS provides specialist nursing leadership and expert clinical care for patients with suspected or confirmed stroke. The post holder supports rapid assessment, treatment, and coordination of care, ensuring patients receive timely, safe, and evidence-based management throughout their acute stroke admission.

Main Responsibilities

• Assess and manage patients presenting with acute stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA).
• Support delivery of hyperacute stroke treatments, including thrombolysis and thrombectomy pathways.
• Provide specialist advice and support to patients, families, and healthcare professionals.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary care, rehabilitation planning, and discharge processes.
• Monitor patient progress, identify complications, and escalate concerns appropriately.
• Promote secondary prevention and patient education to reduce future stroke risk.
• Ensure compliance with national stroke standards, guidelines, and local policies.
• Deliver stroke education and training to nursing and multidisciplinary teams.
• Participate in audit, quality improvement, and service development initiatives.
• Act as a clinical leader and role model, contributing to the continuous improvement of stroke services.

Key Outcomes

• Improved patient outcomes through timely specialist stroke care.
• Effective coordination of the patient pathway from admission to discharge.
• High-quality, patient-centred care aligned with national stroke standards.
• Enhanced staff knowledge and adherence to best practice in stroke management.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Current NMC Registration
• Stroke course

Desirable criteria

• At or working towards a degree level in relevant studies.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Extensive post registration experience in a stroke care setting
• Experience of working as a senior band 5 in a stroke setting
• Understanding of thrombolysis and thrombectomy pathways.
• Knowledge of stroke assessment, management and rehabilitation pathways.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of clinical audit/promoting quality issues within healthcare.
• Knowledge of stroke prevention, risk factor management and national stroke standards.
• Experience of managing deteriorating patients and escalating concerts appropriately.

Skills and knowledge

Essential criteria

• Wide range of clinical skills – venepuncture, cannulation, drug administration, catheterisation, ECG.
• Excellent clinical assessment and decision-making skills.
• Be able to work in a face pace environment.
• Excellent communication skills.

Desirable criteria

• Supervisory skills.
• Teaching, training and assessing skills.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) is proud of its strong reputation, record of achievement and ambition for the future. We serve a population of over 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and South Buckinghamshire, and remain committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our communities.

Our new organisational strategy – FHFT 2030 – sets out our ambition to be the best place to receive care and the best place to work in the NHS. Underpinned by our Trust values – Committed to Excellence, Working Together, Facing the Future, and being a modern, compassionate, Healthcare Organisation – we are creating a culture where our people can thrive and patients always come first.

We continue to invest heavily in our services and facilities. This includes the development of a new hospital at Frimley Park, major expansion of diagnostics and inpatient capacity, and the continued transformation of services across our sites. We have already delivered a brand-new £100m state-of-the-art Heatherwood Hospital, a £49m Emergency Assessment Centre at Wexham Park, and a £10m upgrade to maternity services.

We are also committed to sustainability and the NHS Net Zero ambition. Our new hospital and estate developments are being designed to be environmentally responsible, energy efficient, and future-proofed, featuring on-site renewables energy and intelligent energy systems. Through our green plan, we are embedding sustainable practices across all areas of care and operations, ensuring we reduce our environmental impact while improving population health and wellbeing. Our staff are key to helps us deliver on our ambition and to ensure sustainability is a core component of care delivery and our operations.

Alongside estates’ investments, we are embedding a strong focus on digital innovation and quality improvement. Our electronic patient record (Epic), launched in 2024, is already enabling safer, more connected, and more effective care for patients, while giving staff the tools they need to do their best work. Our electronic patient record also supports safe and effective digitised care pathways, savings time and carbon, whilst delivering excellent quality of care.

Everything we do is guided by our values, shaping how we care for patients, support colleagues, and build a sustainable future for healthcare together.

Apply online now