Find nursing shifts across Berkshire
Novello Healthcare puts Berkshire nursing shifts in your pocket. Browse open work from Reading to Slough, see the confirmed pay before you accept, and book it straight from the app in a few taps.
Quick enquiry
Looking for work in Berkshire?
Leave your details and we’ll come back to you with the nursing, care and support shifts we have near you in Berkshire — and what they pay. It takes about twenty seconds.
Nursing in Berkshire
Why nurses choose Novello in Berkshire
A local agency that keeps things simple, honest and quick.
Shifts close to home
Whether you are near the Royal Berkshire Hospital in central Reading, Wexham Park by Slough, Heatherwood in Ascot or a care home out towards Newbury, Bracknell or Windsor, you pick the settings and areas that suit you. No one talks you into a long commute you did not choose.
Confirmed pay, up front
You see the rate for every shift before you accept it, in the app, with no guessing and no chasing. What you agree to is what you are paid, and we sort your payments promptly.
Compliance made painless
Our team walks you through DBS, references and mandatory training so your file is ready fast. Registration takes under a minute and many nurses are compliant and ready to book within a day or two.
The county we cover
Nursing in Berkshire, up close
Berkshire has no single county council and no hospital of its own for the most serious trauma, so its NHS map is split between two acute trusts and shaped by where care actually happens.
Acute care in Berkshire is shared between two trusts. Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust runs the Royal Berkshire Hospital in central Reading, the main acute and specialist site for the west of the county, alongside West Berkshire Community Hospital near Newbury and Townlands Memorial Hospital over the border in Henley. In the east, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust runs Wexham Park Hospital near Slough, the main acute site for that side of Berkshire, plus Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, which now works as a planned care and diagnostics centre. The trust’s third acute site, Frimley Park Hospital, sits just outside the county in Surrey. Berkshire has no major trauma centre of its own: both the Royal Berkshire and Wexham Park run as trauma units within the Thames Valley Trauma Network, and the most seriously injured patients are taken on to the major trauma centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Mental health and community services across Berkshire are run by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Its main inpatient mental health site is Prospect Park Hospital in Reading, where the wards include Rose, Snowdrop and Bluebell, with Sorrel providing psychiatric intensive care and Orchid and Rowan caring for older adults and people living with dementia. The same trust runs community nursing, minor injury units and health centres from Bracknell across to Newbury. Berkshire no longer has an operating prison, since the old HMP Reading closed in 2014, so secure and custodial work sits just outside the county line at HMP Bullingdon and HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire and HMP Coldingley and HMP Bronzefield in Surrey. The independent sector is strong around Reading, with Circle Reading Hospital, Spire Dunedin Hospital and the Ramsay-run Berkshire Independent Hospital, plus the Circle-run Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor.
Where we work
What we cover in Berkshire
From the big acute wards in Reading and Slough to care homes and community teams across the county.
Hospitals and theatres
Ward and theatre work across the Royal Berkshire in Reading, Wexham Park near Slough and the elective lists at Heatherwood in Ascot, plus the independent hospitals clustered around Reading and Windsor.
Care homes and community
Nursing and residential homes from Reading and Wokingham out to Newbury and Maidenhead, along with community and district nursing supported by Berkshire Healthcare’s local teams.
Mental health and specialist
Inpatient mental health work at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading and older-adult and dementia settings, plus secure and forensic estate just over the border in Oxfordshire and Surrey.
We book shifts in Reading, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Bracknell, Wokingham, Newbury, Ascot, Sandhurst and Thatcham, among others.
Work in a neighbouring area? We also cover the South East, Surrey and Hampshire.
On the map
Where we work across Berkshire
From the Royal Berkshire in central Reading across to Wexham Park near Slough, here is a snapshot of the settings on our map.
Specialisms in Berkshire
Specialisms we cover in Berkshire
Wherever your skills sit, from theatre lists at the Royal Berkshire in Reading and Wexham Park near Slough to care homes around Newbury and Maidenhead, there is likely to be Berkshire work that fits.
- Nursing & care homes
- Mental health
- Prison nursing
- Critical care
- Theatres
Nursing & care homes
Berkshire’s older population keeps growing, and the county has a large private and voluntary care sector to match, from big purpose-built homes around Reading, Sonning and Shinfield to smaller nursing homes out towards Newbury and Maidenhead. We place registered nurses into residential, nursing and dementia settings, so if you enjoy building relationships with residents over a run of shifts, there is steady work here.
Mental health
Mental health work in Berkshire centres on Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and its main inpatient site, Prospect Park Hospital in Reading. That covers adult acute wards, psychiatric intensive care on Sorrel, and older-adult and dementia care on Orchid and Rowan, alongside community mental health teams across the county. We place RMNs and experienced HCAs into these kinds of settings as the local landscape allows.
Prison nursing
To be straight with you, Berkshire itself no longer has an operating prison, as the old HMP Reading closed back in 2014. If custodial or secure nursing is your thing, the nearest estate sits just over the county line: HMP Bullingdon and HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire, and HMP Coldingley and the women’s prison HMP Bronzefield in Surrey. We also cover secure and forensic mental health work in the wider region, so it is worth telling us if that is the direction you want.
Critical care
Berkshire has no major trauma centre of its own, so its critical care sits in the emergency and intensive care units at the Royal Berkshire in Reading and Wexham Park near Slough, both trauma units within the Thames Valley Trauma Network. The most seriously injured patients are transferred on to the major trauma centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. We place experienced critical care and ITU-trained nurses into the county’s acute units where the need arises.
Theatres
For theatre and surgical work there is plenty across Berkshire: NHS lists at the Royal Berkshire in Reading, Wexham Park near Slough and the dedicated elective centre at Heatherwood in Ascot, plus a strong independent sector including Circle Reading Hospital, Spire Dunedin Hospital and the Berkshire Independent Hospital in Reading, and the Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor. Scrub, anaesthetic and recovery nurses are all in demand.
Care & support work in Berkshire
Care and support work in Berkshire
Most care in Berkshire is delivered by care assistants and support workers rather than registered nurses. Berkshire has had no county council since 1998, so adult social care is commissioned separately by six unitary authorities — Reading, West Berkshire, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Slough and Windsor & Maidenhead — and the work spans elderly care homes, supported living and community dementia care. Whatever your background, there is regular work near you.
- Care assistant
- Support worker
- Dementia care
- Learning disability
Care assistant
West Berkshire is ageing quickly: nearly a fifth of residents, some 19.6%, are aged 65 or over, and the number of over-65s grew by around a third, 33.8%, in the decade to the 2021 Census. Across Berkshire that demand is met by homes such as the purpose-built Sonning Gardens near Reading, run by Avery Healthcare. Care assistants are the backbone of these homes, supporting residents with everyday living, personal care and companionship.
Support worker
Berkshire also has a strong supported-living sector: Choice Care Group, headquartered in Bracknell, supports adults with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs across the county in their own tenancies rather than in care homes. That means steady demand for support workers who help the people they support live as independently as possible — in their own homes and out in the community, rather than in a care-home setting.
Dementia care
Dementia care is a growing part of the sector across Berkshire. The county’s western half — Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham — falls within the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB, while the east sits under Frimley, and dementia diagnosis rates locally, as across much of England, have run below the 67% national standard. Homes throughout the county provide dedicated dementia care, from early through to advanced stages, and it is some of the most valued work in the sector, supporting residents and older people to live well day to day.
Learning disability
In east Berkshire, much learning-disability support is delivered through Optalis, a local-authority trading company jointly owned by Wokingham Borough Council and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, which runs supported-living, independent-living and short-break services in Wokingham, Maidenhead, Windsor and Ascot. Support workers here help the people they support manage their own tenancies and take part in everyday community life, rather than living in a care-home setting.
Not sure which fits? See all care & support roles →
The Novello app
Your work life, in one app
Find Berkshire shifts, see your confirmed pay and keep your compliance in one place. No more chasing paperwork. Everything you need, on iOS and Android.
For Berkshire employers
Hiring nurses in Berkshire?
If you run a ward, home or unit in Berkshire, we can help you fill gaps with vetted, compliant nurses.
We work with care homes, hospitals and community teams right across the county, from Reading and Slough to Newbury, Bracknell and Windsor. Every nurse we send is fully compliant and briefed, and because our nurses book through the app you get shifts filled quickly, without a stack of phone calls. Tell us what you need and we will do the legwork.
Reviews
Don't just take our word for it.
Novello are highly professional, making the onboarding process easier. What I like most is the fact I can book shifts on the app at my own convenience!
Sarah Theatre
Very competent staff and a welcoming, supportive team. What I like most is the variety of shifts in the Novello app!
Khadra RGN
Everything is really simple. The whole process of joining, and then finding and booking shifts. It's so simple!
Dan SFA
Frameworks & accreditations
Good to know
Berkshire nursing agency FAQs
Which hospitals could I work at in Berkshire?
The main NHS sites are the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading (Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust) and Wexham Park Hospital near Slough plus Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot (Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust). There is also a strong independent sector, including Circle Reading Hospital, Spire Dunedin Hospital, the Berkshire Independent Hospital in Reading and the Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor. We name these as the local landscape; the specific settings we can book you into depend on our current placements.
Do you cover both east and west Berkshire?
Yes. We book shifts right across the county, from Reading, Newbury and Thatcham in the west to Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and Ascot in the east, plus Bracknell and Wokingham in between. You choose the areas that suit you.
How quickly can I start working?
Registration takes under a minute. Once we have your DBS, references and mandatory training sorted, many nurses are compliant and ready to book within a day or two. Our team helps you through every step.
Is there mental health nursing work in Berkshire?
There is. Mental health services across the county are run by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, whose main inpatient site is Prospect Park Hospital in Reading. That covers adult acute, psychiatric intensive care and older-adult and dementia wards, alongside community teams. We place RMNs and experienced support staff into these kinds of settings as availability allows.
Is there prison or secure nursing near Berkshire?
Berkshire itself no longer has an operating prison, since HMP Reading closed in 2014. The nearest estate is just over the county line, including HMP Bullingdon and HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire and HMP Coldingley and HMP Bronzefield in Surrey. We also cover secure and forensic mental health work in the wider region, so let us know if that interests you.
Ready to pick up shifts in Berkshire?
Sign up in under a minute, get compliant fast, and start browsing Berkshire nursing shifts with the pay shown up front. Join Novello Healthcare today and work on your terms.
Call 0333 307 8897 · hello@novellohealthcare.com
