Welcome to Hunter Gatherer Mental Health, your specialist partner for community nurse recruitment across the UK.
We connect community nurses with NHS trusts, community health services, and care providers – and help services find reliable, clinically competent nurses who can work independently in the community from day one. Whether you need urgent locum cover or a permanent addition to your team, we respond quickly and match carefully.
What is Community Nursing?
Community nurses deliver clinical care to patients in their own homes, residential settings, community clinics, and GP practices – managing conditions and providing treatments that support people to remain well and independent outside of hospital. The work is largely autonomous: community nurses manage their own caseloads, make independent clinical decisions, and coordinate care with GPs, social services, and specialist teams.
Community nursing covers a wide range of clinical activity – from routine wound care and medication management to complex palliative care, continence assessment, catheter care and post-operative support. The ability to manage risk, communicate clearly across professional boundaries, and work safely without direct supervision is central to the role.
Why Services Choose Hunter Gatherer for Community Nurse Recruitment:
- NMC-verified before placement Registration status, DBS, indemnity, mandatory training and relevant community experience – all confirmed before anyone starts. Community nursing requires practitioners who can work autonomously without direct supervision, and we only put forward nurses whose compliance and clinical background support that.
- Broad community nursing network From newly qualified Band 5 staff nurses to experienced Band 7 community specialist practitioners, we have a wide network of community nurses available for both planned and urgent placements across the UK.
- Genuine community experience We match on clinical background – wound care, palliative care, chronic disease management, caseload nursing – not just NMC registration and an available start date.
- Locum and permanent placements Urgent cover or a long-term hire – we support both with the same standards throughout.
Need support attracting top Community Nursing talent?
Community Nursing Settings We Recruit For:
- NHS Community Health Services – community nursing teams, integrated community health, locality-based nursing teams
- District Nursing Services – caseload nursing for housebound and complex patients in the community
- Community Mental Health = nursing input within community mental health and CMHT settings (see also our Community Psychiatric Nurses page)
- Intermediate Care and Reablement – short-term intensive community nursing support post-discharge
- Care Homes and Residential Settings – clinical nursing oversight and specialist input in residential care
- Hospice and Palliative Care – community-based end-of-life care and specialist palliative nursing
- Community Specialist Nursing – tissue viability, continence, diabetes, respiratory, heart failure community nursing
- GP Practice-Based Community Nursing – nursing support linked to primary care networks and GP surgeries
Community Nurse Roles and Responsibilities:
Community nurses manage varied caseloads that typically include:
- Wound assessment, dressing changes, and tissue viability management
- Medication administration – including IV therapy, subcutaneous syringe drivers, and complex medication regimes
- Catheter care – insertion, maintenance and management of urinary and suprapubic catheters
- Chronic disease management – diabetes, COPD, heart failure, hypertension reviews in the community
- Palliative and end-of-life care – pain and symptom management, Liverpool Care Pathway, Gold Standards Framework
- Post-operative and post-discharge care – monitoring recovery, managing surgical wounds, supporting rehabilitation
- Health promotion and patient education – supporting self-management of long-term conditions
- Caseload coordination – managing referrals, liaising with GPs, social care and specialist services
Qualifications We Look For:
Every community nurse we place holds:
- Active NMC registration (RGN – Adult Nurse) with no conditions or restrictions
- Relevant post-qualification community or clinical experience – most community nursing roles require autonomous caseload management experience
- Valid DBS (enhanced) and current mandatory training including infection control, safeguarding, and manual handling
- A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle – essential for the majority of community nursing roles
- For specialist community nursing roles (tissue viability, palliative, diabetes): relevant post-graduate qualifications or demonstrable specialist competency
For Band 7 and community specialist practitioner roles, the Specialist Practitioner Qualification (SPQ) in community nursing is expected by many NHS trusts.
Locum Community Nursing Opportunities:
Locum community nursing work offers genuine autonomy, varied clinical caseloads and the flexibility to work across different services and settings. Whether you want block bookings in a structured NHS community team, flexible ad hoc shifts around other commitments, or a longer-term placement in a specialist community role, we’ll find the right opportunities for your background and availability.
We have active community nursing requirements across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond.
Lets start the search for your next role in Community Nursing
Community Nurse Pay Rates (2025/26):
Locum Band 5 community staff nurses typically earn £24–£30 per hour umbrella, reflecting the autonomous nature of community nursing work relative to supervised ward settings. Band 6 community nurses with specialist skills or caseload management experience earn £28–£36 per hour, with community specialist practitioners and Band 7 practitioners earning £34–£44 per hour depending on specialism and setting.
Palliative care, tissue viability, and other specialist community nursing roles typically attract the higher end of the Band 6 and Band 7 range. London and South East roles carry a premium above the national average.
For permanent salaried roles, Band 5 runs from £31,049 to £37,796 (2025/26); Band 6 from £38,682 to £46,580; Band 7 from £47,810 to £54,710.
Our consultants can advise on current going rates for your specific background and region.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Do community nursing locum roles require a driving licence? Yes – the vast majority of community nursing roles involve visiting patients at home or across multiple community sites and require a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle. We confirm this during registration and will always flag the travel requirements for each role upfront.
- Do you place newly qualified community nurses? Most community nursing locum roles require at least 12 months’ post-qualification experience, as the work is largely autonomous. Some services will consider strong Band 5 nurses with relevant placement experience. We’ll advise on what each specific role requires.
- Is this page for community nurses or community psychiatric nurses? Both – but they are separate specialisms. This page covers community nurses working in general community health settings (wound care, palliative care, chronic disease, district nursing). If you are a Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) working in community mental health, please see our dedicated CPN page.
- Can you provide short-notice community nurse cover? Yes. Once a nurse is registered and compliant with us, we can respond quickly to urgent requirements. Contact us directly for time-critical needs.
- What areas do you cover? We place community nurses across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sheffield and beyond.
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Testimonials:
Latest Roles
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Band 6 Research Nurse – Chertsey
Band 6 Research Nurse – £26 per hour Location: Chertsey Department: Research & Development Start: ASAP – Ongoing Hours: Monday–Friday, 08:30–16:30 Contact: Faieq Hunter Mental […]View Band 6 Research Nurse – Chertsey job