OUR VALUES IN ACTION
• Care and Compassion • Quality and Teamwork • Dignity and Respect • Openness, honesty and responsibility
ob Opportunity: Community Addiction Nurse (Band 6)
NHS Borders Addiction Service – Galavale Site
Full Time | Permanent
Are you passionate about supporting people affected by drug and alcohol use? Do you want to make a real and lasting impact across the Borders? We’re looking for a skilled and compassionate Community Addiction Nurse (Band 6) to join our dedicated NHS Borders Addiction Service (BAS) team.
About the Role
As a Community Addiction Nurse, you will play a central role in delivering high‑quality, person‑centred care to people experiencing substance misuse problems.
You’ll work with individuals who often have complex health and social care needs, providing specialist clinical input, supporting recovery, and helping people to achieve safer, healthier lives.
This is an autonomous and highly rewarding role where you will:
- Manage your own caseload
- Support and supervise junior clinical staff and support workers
- Offer expert advice to GPs, courts, partner agencies and wider services
- Provide assessment, harm reduction interventions, psychological support, and care planning
- Build strong therapeutic relationships with patients, families and carers
- Contribute to service development and quality improvement across BAS
You’ll be part of a close, supportive multidisciplinary team and will work collaboratively with a wide range of statutory and non‑statutory partners.
What You’ll Be Doing
Clinical Practice
- Complete in‑depth assessments and ongoing reviews of people referred with drug and/or alcohol issues
- Deliver harm‑reduction interventions, BBV vaccinations, specimen collection and detoxification support
- Offer psychological interventions and refer onward where required
- Liaise closely with GPs, mental health teams, social work, police, prisons and voluntary services
- Maintain high standards of evidence‑based practice and contribute to the development of clinical guidelines
- Provide specialist advice and consultation to colleagues, partner agencies and courts
Leadership & Service Delivery
- Organise and manage your own caseload
- Allocate cases and provide supervision to junior nursing staff and support workers
- Motivate and develop staff through appraisal and personal development planning
- Maintain accurate clinical records and support monitoring, reporting and audit activity
- Represent BAS at meetings, training sessions, and local networks
Education & Training
- Deliver training on substance misuse to colleagues and wider partners
- Keep your own knowledge and skills up to date
- Act as an information resource for patients, families and carers
What We’re Looking For
Essential
- NMC Level 1 Registered Nurse
- Significant experience working with people affected by drug or alcohol use
- Strong assessment, communication and documentation skills
- Experience of partnership working
- Ability to support, motivate and supervise others
- Calm, compassionate, respectful approach to care
- Ability to travel across the Borders area
Desirable
- Experience in community settings
- Knowledge of BBVs, group work, harm reduction and health promotion
- Psychological therapy training
- Postgraduate study in addictions, management or related fields
- Interest in research or audit
If you’re not already a Non‑Medical Prescriber, we can support you to gain this qualification.
As from 1st April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro-rata. However, there will be a corresponding increase in the hourly rate so that pay will not be affected.
Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.
For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.
It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.
**PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept late applications so please ensure your application is submitted early***
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
