Senior Addiction Nurse

OUR VALUES IN ACTION

• Care and Compassion
• Quality and Teamwork
• Dignity and Respect
• Openness, honesty and responsibility
  
  

A Band 6 Addictions Nurse position is available with NHS Borders' Addictions Service (BAS) in Galashiels. This role focuses on providing holistic care, assessments, and support for individuals with substance issues within both clinical and community settings, often working with a nationally recognised team implementing MAT standards

Key Details

• Location: Primarily based at Galavale House, Galashiels, serving the wider Scottish Borders.
• Role: Registered Nurse (RMN/RGN) with previous experience in addiction care. Strong communication, assessment, and organizational skills are necessary, along with the ability to travel across the Borders. Responsible for assessment, care planning, and implementing, or evaluating, care for individuals affected by substance use.
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• The role involves working within a multidisciplinary team, often with a focus on assertive outreach, to provide person-centered care to individuals with complex substance misuse issues. Duties include assessment, care planning, and treatment such as Blood Borne Virus (BBV) interventions, alcohol assessments, and medication administration. Providing clinical supervision to junior staff and students is also a component of the role.
• Hours: 37 hours per week.
• Application: Applications are typically submitted through the NHS Scotland Job site.
  
  

Key Contacts : Kate Ainslie, Service Manager, at 01896 664436 as key contacts for inquiries.

Note: As this is a patient-facing role, it requires PVG Scheme membership.

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

Please note: the salary quoted is for full-time hours (37 hrs per week). For appointments to part-time hours, the salary will be pro-rata.

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 application