Nursing Associate

Are you a dedicated, compassionate Nursing Associate committed to providing great care? Do you want the chance to help shape a new and genuinely innovative service for the women of Kent and Medway?

We're creating Kent and Medway's first, and only, NHS Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for women, and are seeking a talented Nursing Associate to help us deliver this vital service.

As a Nursing Associate you will be a key member of the multidisciplinary care team and will work under the direction of a registered nurse, have continuing responsibility to deliver and evaluate care, communicate findings, influence change and promote health and best practice, patient safety and experience. You will have a keen interest to support the Physical Health needs of the client group and work closely with the Physical Health Nurse.

We welcome applicants that will be creative and enthusiastic in their approach to developing and maintaining high quality mental health care for service users.

Please note that the start date for this post will be March 2026, to allow for sufficient time for onboarding, induction, and training before the anticipated arrival of the first patient in April 2026.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, come and join our diverse and compassionate team committed to delivering excellent care and support for service users and their loved ones.

All positions also benefit from a High Cost Area allowance.

Under direction of the registered nurse, contribute to comprehensive and systematic nursing assessments which take account of relevant mental, physical, social, cultural, psychological, spiritual, and environmental factors, in partnership with the patient and others through interaction, observation and measurement.

Work collaboratively with other disciplines, patients and their carers to deliver a holistic person-centred care plan that addresses the needs identified through assessment.

To contribute to the evaluation and review of safe, competent patient centred care in partnership with the patient and their carers to support recovery under the direction of the registered nurse.

Working in a PICU is very rewarding but we want to be honest and share that it is demanding too. It is likely to be needed by people with severe and complex mental health conditions (e.g. Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder and may be associated with Personality Disorder, Substance Misuse and PTSD).

While emotionally challenging, the opportunity to support critically unwell women back to their communities, ensuring 'right care, in the right place, at the right time', is immense, and your skilled, multidisciplinary, team will be there to support you.

You would be working as part of a team of mental health experts, dedicated to making sure the most unwell women in our communities have the same access to specialist care as men.

We are recruiting now to make sure our new female PICU team is in place with enough time to train, form team bonds and prepare. So you can all make a profound difference to patient outcomes from day one.

We also offer ongoing professional development to help you adapt and progress your career, including bespoke training and a comprehensive induction program.

All jobs based at our Dartford unit come with a High Cost Area Supplement: 5% of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £1303 per year and a maximum payment of £2198 per year (the agreed annual amount will be divided into 12 equal amounts and paid monthly). The salary listed is inclusive of the High-Cost Area Allowance.

Please refer to the attached job description for full details and main responsibilities of the role.