Deteriorating Patient Lead Practitioner | Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Posting date:	09 December 2025
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	£55,690 - £62,682 p.a. pro rata
Hours:	Part time
Closing date:	08 January 2026
Location:	Cambridge, CB2 0QQ
Company:	Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	7672022/180-F-257262-RE

Summary

We are seeking a motivated and experienced practitioner with current NHS experience in an acute setting to join out Harm free Care team as Deteriorating Patient Lead Practitioner. This exciting new role will provide strategic and clinical leadership to ensure the timely recognition and effective management of acutely ill and deteriorating patients across the Trust.

This role will drive improvements in patient safety by developing and implementing evidence-based strategies, delivering education and training programmes, and supporting clinical teams with expert guidance. Working collaboratively with divisional leaders and specialist teams, the post holder will champion best practice, embed national standards such as NEWS and sepsis pathways, and lead quality improvement initiatives to reduce harm and improve outcomes for patients.
• Provide strategic leadership for the identification, escalation, and management of deteriorating patients across the Trust.
• Develop and implement evidence-based policies, protocols, and improvement strategies aligned with national standards (e.g., NEWS2, sepsis pathways).
• Lead the design and delivery of education and training programmes to enhance staff competence in recognising and responding to acute deterioration.
• Act as a clinical expert and resource, offering specialist advice and support to multidisciplinary teams.
• Monitor compliance, analyse data, and drive quality improvement initiatives to reduce harm and improve patient outcomes.
• Collaborate with divisional teams, Rapid Response Teams, and senior leaders to embed best practice and foster a culture of safety.
• Contribute to incident reviews, learning processes, and implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)

Skills and Experience We’re Looking For
• Advanced clinical assessment and decision-making skills for acutely ill patients.
• Strong leadership and change management capability.
• Experience in service improvement and implementing evidence-based practice.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to design and deliver education and training programmes.
• Knowledge of national patient safety standards and escalation protocols (e.g., NEWS, sepsis).

Our Trust

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. With over 13,000 staff and over 1100 beds the priorities of the Trust focus on a quality service which is all about people – patients, staff and partners. Recognised as providing ‘outstanding’ care to our patients and rated ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commissioner, is testament to the skill and dedication of the people who work here. CUH’s values –Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent– are at the heart of patient care, defining the way all staff work and behave. The Trust provides accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge, together with specialist services, dealing with rare or complex conditions for a regional, national and international population.

CUH is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves. We value our differences and fully advocate and support an inclusive working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential. We want to ensure our people are truly representative of all the communities that we serve. We welcome applications for all positions in the organisation irrespective of people’s age, disability, ethnicity, race, nationality, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity status or social economic background.

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:
- applied for a Graduate visa
- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment
- or the Trust has agreed that they will Sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start

For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 18 December 2025

Interviews are due to be held on 8 January 2026

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.


This advert closes on Thursday 18 Dec 2025