Clinical Nurse Specialist (Addictions)

Cnwlnhshealthcharity; Hounslow; On-site; GBP 44,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS healthcare provider in Hounslow seeks a Clinical Nurse Specialist to join their Addictions Directorate. The successful candidate will provide expert care in a multidisciplinary team, focusing on patients with substance use disorders. This full-time role involves patient assessments, care planning, and direct clinical support, emphasizing harm reduction and motivational interviewing. Ideal candidates will have experience in addiction services and a passion for high-quality patient care. Competitive salary and benefits offered.

Benefits

Relocation package

Flexible working options

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Must be a registered nurse and have relevant UK professional registration.
• Experience working with addictions and dual diagnosis clients required.
• Familiarity with safeguarding issues in relation to adults and children.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high standards of nursing care to clients according to clinical needs.
• Continuously assess psychological and rehabilitative needs of clients.
• Manage caseload and provide individual intervention with clients.

Skills

Case management

Motivational Interviewing

Knowledge of addiction treatment models

Communication skills

Independence and prioritization

Culturally sensitive approach

Education

Registered Nurse qualification

Job description

Search here to find a new job, a new career, an opportunity to up skill or to simply change your career direction. Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.

There’s a place for you at CNWL. We’re passionate about delivering first‑class patient‑centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic or in the patient’s own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do.

Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We’re always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust. With every new employee we’re hoping to find our future leaders and we’ll support our staff by providing opportunities to develop your career.

With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more – whatever stage of your career you're at, there's always a place for you at CNWL.

Main area Clinical Nurse Specialist Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Successful candidate will be continued in the post if funding is agreed after 31/03/2026.) Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week (We operate late clinic on Tuesdays and this candidate will be added to the rota) Job ref 333-D-AD-0586

Site ARC Hounslow Drug and Alcohol Service Town Hounslow Salary £44,485 – £52,521 Per annum incl. HCAS (pro rata if P/T) Salary period Yearly Closing 26/01/2026 23:59

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Job overview

The Addictions Directorate with CNWL Foundation Trust is a large, well established provider which offers a wide range of specialist NHS drug and alcohol treatment interventions to the diverse and multicultural populations in Central and North West London. Our drug and alcohol services include community services, A&E liaison services, Peripatetic nurses, Family Therapy, a National Problem Gambling Service and a Club Drug Clinic.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, energetic and experienced nurse to join our team. If you have a passion for delivering high‑quality expert care in Addictions, then we want you to join our team in the heart of Hounslow.

Main duties of the job

• To work as a member of the multidisciplinary team as the Keyworker responsible for the delivery of high standards of nursing care to clients assessed and admitted according to their clinical needs, and in accordance with up-to-date evidence‑based practice and relevant Trust clinical protocol and policies.
• To assess continuously the psychological, emotional, social and rehabilitative needs of own clients/patients, taking into account the needs of family, local community and developing systematic plans for care and evaluation of treatment plans.
• To be able to assess and case manage clients who inject drugs, in particular assessing injection sites and be conversant with the precepts of harm reduction.

Working for our organisation

Our substance use services are dedicated to helping reduce the harm caused by substance use; helping people overcome their dependency on substances and helping clients and their families rebuild their lives and enable recovery. We are committed to working in partnership with other providers and service users in local systems of treatment and recovery.

CNWL is committed to providing high quality, evidence‑based treatment options and is a learning organisation which promotes staff competence and training and values clinical governance, audit and research. We are linked with Imperial College, University of London and are committed to evaluating our services and developing new and innovative approaches.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Duties:

• To work as a member of the multidisciplinary team in the management and treatment provision of the specialist service to people with problematic use of novel psychoactive substances with associated problem drink and drug use attending the service/unit, including harm minimisation approaches, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, care planning, individual intervention, health assessments and education and detoxification programmes, pre and post test BBV’s counselling and vaccination and group work.
• To manage FP10 printing of Controlled Drugs for the service, i.e. preparing and printing of prescriptions.
• To provide case management and direct clinical care to a defined number of complex clients including clients dual diagnosed with mental health and physical health issues, concurrent with substance misuse problems, as agreed with the Service Manager. This includes assessment, care planning and providing specialist nursing care.
• To use agreed and established Treatment Outcome Monitoring Tools (TOP) and any other relevant quality measures.
• To contribute to the development, provision and review of care plans.
• To counsel individuals about their substance use and related behaviours, using motivational interviewing, relapse management and other evidence‑based interventions.
• To provide clinical advice and support to other colleagues within the health care setting and to other agencies concerned with substance misuse.
• To be responsible for the safe and effective storage and administration of drugs, exercising responsibility for the custody and maintenance of statutory records of such drugs in accordance with the Trust Policies/Procedures on the supply and carriage of drugs in the community.
• To ensure full risk assessments and risk management is delivered effectively.
• To undertake dry blood spot testing for BBV and urinalysis when required.
• To screen clients at risk of, or affected by, blood borne diseases and to plan and agree service responses according to needs.
• To provide education and to assertively promote Hepatitis B vaccination for clients who are at risk of contracting the virus.
• To administer Hepatitis B vaccination in accordance with CNWL Medicine Policies and Protocols.
• To provide pre and post test discussion to clients screened for blood borne viruses in accordance with CNWL guidelines.
• To ensure the CNWL Hepatitis care plan is used for all clients.
• To collaborate with the individual statutory, non‑statutory teams, GPs, primary care services, virology, chemical pathology and liver/gastroenterology departments, and provide expert care without direct medical supervision, using clinical guidance documents and patient group directions as agreed by the Trust.
• To assist in the transfer of individuals between the service and Hepatology/gastroenterology and other relevant agencies.
• To be familiar with the Trust and local resuscitation, infection control and needle stick injury policies and procedures.
• To attend mandatory yearly updates on CPR and anaphylaxis training.
• To ensure an understanding and implementation of clinical governance.
• The post holder will work within CNWL’s child protection policy and in partnership within all agencies responsible for ensuring compliance with the local safeguarding children’s board working practices.
• To prepare reports and attend client meetings such as professional network meetings, child protection case conferences and core group meetings as required.
• To plan and agree service responses which meet the individual need and circumstances of clients at risk of, or affected by, substance misuse during pregnancy.
• To recognise the professional duty of care to protect where clients present a risk to themselves or others, and comply with statutory requirements regarding safeguarding children, child protection including the Children Act 1989 and hidden harm guidelines.
• To assess risk behaviours of clients, provide information and implications of any risks identified on health and social well being and work with clients to address and modify risk behaviours to promote positive changes.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Previous Experience

• Experience managing a caseload in the community
• Experience of working with addictions
• Experience of working with dual diagnosis clients and those experiencing mental health issues
• Experience in risk management and care planning
• Experience of working in and delivering services to injecting drug users
• Experience of working with people who use club drugs and engage in ‘chemsex’
• Experience of providing counselling interventions

Skills and knowledge

• Knowledge of different treatment models and pathways in addictions
• An understanding of safeguarding issues in relation to adults and children
• Ability to work independently and to prioritise effectively
• Ability to work within a harm minimisation model
• Motivational Interviewing skills / relapse management skills
• IT literate
• Able to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy, using good communication skills
• Experience of working within a multi‑disciplinary team
• Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach, which considers the needs of the whole person
• Knowledge of prescribing issues in a drug service
• Non‑judgemental, empathic
• Able to engage in frank discussions with clients about high risk behaviours
• Committed to multidisciplinary team work
• Committed to service user involvement
• Flexible & responsive to a must have the ability to understand and implement the equal and diversity policy at a level appropriate to the job developing service.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

• Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
• Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
• Our agenda for change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
• If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.