Job Description

Bristol Adult Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Service is delivered to patients across the south west region 24/7, all year round as part of NHSE commissioned ECMO provision across the country.

The ECMO Nurse Specialist will perform the following roles:

Coordinator, Retrieval and unit based ENS, in order to provide and ensure delivery of expert nursing care both on and offsite. The ENS role requires a high level of judgement, discretion and decision making in conjunction with the ECMO multidisciplinary team. The ENS will provide education and training to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.



Permanent positions as a Band 6 in ECMO Nurse Specialist



Following an initial period of 1 year in your ECMO Nurse Specialist role (having completed the required training, competencies and consolidated your ECMO skills) there is the opportunity to undertake your ECMO role in addition to a Bristol ICU nursing role at UHBW or NBT NHS Trusts. This rotational model includes General and Cardiac ICU at UHBW and Neuro Trauma ICU at NBT. This rotational model is only available after completion of your first year in ECMO, please contact us should you wish to discuss this further or indicate at interview if this is of interest to you.

Interview date:

- 22/7/25



Interviews will only be held on this day



The ENS is accountable for twenty-four-hour care delivery and management of patients receiving ECMO in the Bristol wide Adult ECMO service, this involves working Long Day and Night shifts over 7 days of the week.



The ECMO Nurse Specialist will need to develop close working relationships with the ECMO Medical, Perfusionist, Pharmacist and Physiotherapists as well as the clinical teams across the critical care units and key external partners.



Whilst the Bristol Adult ECMO beds are located on a single site (UHBW GICU - A600), this is a collaborative service delivered by ENS from UHBW and North Bristol Trust (NBT).



ECMO Nurse Specialist (ENS) rostered in ECMO will work within the GICU numbers at the ECMO base ICU on GICU (A600) UHBW when there is a decrease in ECMO activity.



ECMO competence will be maintained by undertaking regular ECMO training sessions in line with ELSO standards.



University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.



For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and Person Specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.