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Home, community, hospital

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of fantastic opportunities to grow your career across both hospital and community settings in south London. Whether you're looking to build new skills or take your experience to the next level, we are uniquely placed to provide the right environment to support your professional development. With colleagues working in people’s homes, in community clinics, and in our two hospitals, we have an outstanding breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from.

Our commitment to exceptional care is reflected in being the first trust of our kind in London to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC for both overall quality and leadership. We exist to provide the best possible care for our patients and we do that by giving our colleagues what they need to be their best at work. We have won numerous awards from the HSJ and Nursing Times for the way we support our colleagues across all our services.

We are proud to be recognised for our outstanding cancer care, children's services, pioneering surgical teams, and exceptional rehabilitation services. Our maternity services have been rated the "Best in London" by women surveyed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with parents travelling to Kingston to take advantage of our considerable experience and expertise.

Our Trust values

These words are important reminders, but it’s our behaviours that tell people who we are. We expect all colleagues to bring our values to life in their work.

Job overview

When you join our team, you’re not just taking on a new role—you’re becoming part of a close-knit, supportive community where teamwork and communication are at the heart of everything we do. We’re committed to helping each other succeed, and we’re just as focused on your personal well-being as we are on your professional development.

In this role, you’ll be based in our modern Retina Suite and newly renovated Orthoptist rooms, with access to cutting-edge technology such as advanced slit lamps, OCT machines, and anterior segment scanners. 

As the Nurse-in-Charge, on a typical day you’ll oversee the main REU-OPD, Acute Referral Clinic (ARC). You’ll kick things off by coordinating with the staff, ensuring the right people are in place to support the different clinics. Throughout the day, you'll be the go-to person for guidance and support, helping junior team members with clinical decisions and serving as a resource when they need advice, all while gaining valuable leadership experience and building on your clinical expertise and management skills.

This is just a quick snapshot into what a typical day could look like, for more details about the role and department please see our attached candidate information pack.

If you’re someone who loves a challenge, enjoys working with a supportive team, and appreciates a good laugh along the way, this could be the perfect role for you!

Main duties of the job

Working hours:
You’ll work 4 days during the week, starting at 7:45 am and finishing at either 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm.

We’re happy to explore flexible working arrangements, such as adjusting your hours or setting fixed days to support your personal needs, like childcare, as long as it doesn’t compromise patient care.

• You’ll work independently as an ophthalmic practitioner, performing holistic assessments, examinations, and diagnoses to create management plans for your patients
• You’ll take full accountability for each patient’s care episode, including assessment, diagnosis, treatment, discharge, or referral when needed
• Collaborating with consultants, lead nurses, and senior sisters, you’ll help drive the development of ophthalmology services
• You’ll ensure the department runs smoothly, meeting national and organisational targets, while providing clinical and managerial leadership to nursing and support staff
• You’ll participate in formal and informal teaching for nursing staff, act as a resource and role model for junior team members and provide them with clinical supervision and support.

Working for our organisation

We believe in fostering a positive and enjoyable work environment. Our nurses are not only driven to excel, but they also genuinely enjoy what they do. We’re a team that works hard and supports one another, and we always find moments to share a laugh or two.

Whether it’s team-building activities, fun runs, or a casual trip to the pub after work, we know how to strike the right balance between hard work and having fun!

If development is something you’re passionate about, we’re ready to work with you from day one to support your growth. Your development is a priority, and we’ll be there to help you with whatever you need as you progress.

You’ll have personalised objectives focused on your professional development, which could include:

• Learning biometry, telephone triaging in ARC, or exploring other areas of interest. If funding is available, we’ll support further learning through external modules or PGCert programs.

• We offer training in administering intravitreal injections. Once you’re confident and independent in this skill, Band 6 nurses can receive Band 7 pay for sessions where they perform this task.