Care Home Nurse Employment Contract UK

Responsibilities reflected in the contract

• Assess and deliver nursing care within competence.
• Manage medicines and treatments as authorised.
• Recognise deterioration and coordinate clinical response.
• Delegate supervise and support care staff safely.
• Maintain complete clinical and professional records.

A realistic working scenario

On a residential shift the Nurse (Care Home) supervises observations, administers medicines when authorised, updates the care planning system and clinical records, escalates deterioration or safeguarding disclosures to the registered manager or service lead, and coordinates with care teams and external clinicians for admissions, discharges and treatment changes.

Outputs to agree

• Accurate observations and care notes entered into the care planning system within shift timeframe.
• Medicine administration records completed only where authorised and stored in medicine records.
• Escalation report to registered manager or service lead for any deterioration or safeguarding disclosure.
• Handover briefings for next shift including outstanding clinical actions and risks.
• Coordination notes for clinician contacts, referrals or follow-up appointments.

Records and evidence

• Clinical or service records in the care planning system documenting observations and interventions.
• Medicine records showing authorised administration, refusals or errors.
• Incident and safeguarding records for disclosures, allegations or referrals.
• Handover logs capturing outstanding actions, risks and monitoring plans.
• Training, competence and supervision records relevant to delegated tasks.
• Patient records.

Reporting relationship

Typically reports to Clinical Lead, Nurse Manager, Matron, Practice Manager or Registered Manager. Confirm the employer's actual reporting structure in the builder.

Authority and escalation

• The Nurse (Care Home) may perform clinical tasks only within their personal competence, training and authorised delegation. The Nurse must escalate clinical deterioration, medicine errors, safeguarding disclosures and instructions outside competence to the registered manager or service lead for approval, further clinical instruction or referral to external clinicians.
• May allocate routine work and make operational decisions only within documented staffing, financial, contractual and policy limits.

Supervision

• Delegate supervise and support care staff safely.
• Allocate and review assigned work within delegated authority and escalate formal people matters through the Employer's procedures.

Tools and systems

• Patient record systems.
• Observation equipment.
• Clinical communication tools.
• Incident reporting systems.
• Medicine systems where authorised.

Workplace context

• Clinical, ward, community or approved patient-care areas.

Training and certification

• Complete employer-required safeguarding training.
• Complete employer-required health and safety training.

Contract priorities

• Provide safe patient care only within personal competence, training and authorised delegation.
• Record observations, treatments and medicine support accurately in the care planning system where authorised.
• Escalate deterioration, medicine concerns, incidents or safeguarding disclosures promptly to the registered manager or service lead.
• Protect confidentiality of patient records, medicine records and safeguarding information; report suspected loss or unauthorised access.
• Maintain patient dignity, privacy and infection control during all care activities.

Information the employer should prepare

• the home resident needs and nursing model
• the registration indemnity and revalidation support
• the shifts nurse cover and on-call structure
• the medicines clinical and delegation authority
• the emergency referral and record systems