Find nursing shifts across County Durham
From Durham’s riverside to the dales and the Tees valley, pick up shifts that fit your life. Hospitals, care homes, mental health, secure settings and community work, all booked through the Novello app with your pay confirmed before you accept.
Quick enquiry
Looking for work in County Durham?
Leave your details and we’ll come back to you with the nursing, care and support shifts we have near you in County Durham — and what they pay. It takes about twenty seconds.
Nursing in County Durham
Work that fits around your life
One app to find local shifts, see your pay and stay compliant, backed by a team that knows the ground from Durham city and Darlington out to the dales and the coast.
Shifts near you
Find work close to home, whether that is a ward at the University Hospital of North Durham, a care home in Chester-le-Street or a community round out towards Barnard Castle. Filter by setting, distance and dates, and book the shifts that suit you.
Pay you can see up front
Every shift shows its rate before you accept, so there are no surprises. Confirm from your phone, and once you have worked it your timesheet and pay are handled without the usual chasing.
Compliance made simple
We keep your NMC registration, mandatory training and DBS in one place and flag anything before it lapses, so you stay ready to work across NHS and independent settings without last-minute panics.
The county we cover
The healthcare landscape in County Durham
It helps to know the ground you are working on. Here is how care is organised across the county.
Acute hospital care across the county sits with County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, one of the larger trusts in the region. Its main emergency and acute sites are the University Hospital of North Durham in the city and Darlington Memorial Hospital, with Bishop Auckland Hospital now focused on planned and day-case work. The trust also runs community hospitals at Shotley Bridge, Sedgefield, Chester-le-Street, Weardale and the Richardson in Barnard Castle. There is no major trauma centre inside County Durham, so the most seriously injured patients are taken to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough or the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, both regional trauma centres just outside the county.
Mental health and learning disability services are led by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, whose main inpatient base in the county is Lanchester Road Hospital on the edge of Durham, alongside West Park Hospital in Darlington and community teams across the towns. The county also holds a notable prison estate: HMP Durham, a Category B reception prison in the Elvet area of the city, the high-security HMP Frankland and the women’s prison HMP Low Newton, both at Brasside, and HMP Deerbolt, a Category C training prison at Barnard Castle. On the independent side, Woodlands Hospital in Darlington handles private surgical and diagnostic work, with Spire Washington and Nuffield’s Tees Hospital sitting just over the county boundary. Add a large community nursing workload across a county that spans dales, former pit villages and market towns, and the range of settings is wide.
Where we work
Where you can work
From the city and Darlington out to the dales and the coast, we cover shifts in every kind of setting.
Hospitals and theatres
Wards, departments and operating theatres across the acute and community sites, from the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial to planned-care lists at Bishop Auckland Hospital and the independent Woodlands Hospital in Darlington.
Care and community
Nursing and residential homes and community nursing right across the county, from Consett and Stanley in the north to Newton Aycliffe, Spennymoor and the villages of Teesdale and Weardale.
Mental health and secure
Inpatient and community mental health work with settings such as Lanchester Road Hospital in Durham and West Park Hospital in Darlington, plus healthcare roles across the county’s prison estate.
That includes Durham, Darlington, Chester-le-Street, Bishop Auckland, Consett, Stanley, Seaham, Peterlee, Newton Aycliffe, Spennymoor and Barnard Castle.
Working across the border? We also cover the North East, Tyne and Wear and North Yorkshire.
On the map
County Durham coverage map
See where we place nurses across County Durham and the wider North East.
Specialisms in County Durham
Specialisms we cover
Whatever your background, there is regular work near you, from the acute wards at the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial to care homes across the towns and the county’s four prisons at Durham, Brasside and Barnard Castle.
- Nursing & care homes
- Mental health
- Prison nursing
- Critical care
- Theatres
Nursing & care homes
County Durham has one of the larger and older populations in the North East, with around 21 per cent of residents aged 65 and over at the 2021 Census and that share projected to keep rising. It is the biggest local authority area in the region by land, so a wide network of CQC-registered nursing and residential homes stays busy across Durham, Bishop Auckland, Consett, Seaham and the smaller towns. Nurses and care staff who enjoy older people’s care and steady relationships will always find shifts.
Mental health
Mental health and learning disability care in the county runs mainly through Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, with inpatient wards at Lanchester Road Hospital in Durham and West Park Hospital in Darlington, plus crisis, community and prison in-reach teams. RMNs and support workers are in steady demand across acute, older people’s and secure mental health settings.
Prison nursing
County Durham holds an unusually dense prison estate for its size. HMP Durham is a Category B reception prison in the city, HMP Frankland at Brasside is one of the country’s high-security prisons, its neighbour HMP Low Newton holds women and young offenders, and HMP Deerbolt at Barnard Castle is a Category C training prison. Prison healthcare is autonomous, varied work, and when secure shifts are available we list them for nurses who like that clinical independence.
Critical care
Critical care and high-dependency work is centred on the acute sites at the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital. County Durham has no major trauma centre of its own, so the most serious cases route out to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough or the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. ITU and HDU nurses will find both regular unit shifts and step-down work in the county.
Theatres
For scrub, anaesthetic and recovery nurses, ODPs and surgical first assistants, theatre work runs across the NHS lists at Darlington Memorial, the University Hospital of North Durham and the planned-care hub at Bishop Auckland, plus the independent Woodlands Hospital in Darlington. Regular theatre work is rarely far away.
Care & support work in County Durham
Care and support work in County Durham
Most care in County Durham is delivered by care assistants and support workers rather than registered nurses. Durham County Council runs one of the largest adult social care operations in the North East — it is the region’s biggest local authority by area, spanning former pit villages, market towns and the dales — and the work spans elderly care homes, supported living and specialist brain-injury support. Whatever your background, there is regular work near you.
- Care assistant
- Support worker
- Dementia care
- Brain injury
Care assistant
County Durham has an older population than England as a whole — around 21% of residents were aged 65 or over at the 2021 Census, compared with roughly 18% nationally, and the number of residents aged 65 and over grew by more than a fifth in the decade to 2021. That ageing profile keeps a wide network of residential and nursing homes busy across Durham, Bishop Auckland, Consett and Seaham. Care assistants are the backbone of these homes, supporting residents with everyday living, personal care and companionship.
Support worker
Durham County Council commissions supported living as an alternative to residential care for adults with learning disabilities and autism, with providers such as Voyage Care running supported living services across the county. That means steady demand for support workers who help the people they support live as independently as possible — looking after their own homes, managing personal care and getting out into the community, rather than in a care-home setting.
Dementia care
More than 7,600 people aged over 65 in County Durham are estimated to be living with dementia, and the county’s ageing population means demand for good dementia care keeps growing. The council runs a dedicated Dementia Action Plan, with memory and support services across the towns. Dementia care is some of the most valued work in the sector, supporting residents to live well day to day.
Brain injury
County Durham has its own dedicated brain-injury charity, Headway County Durham, which runs support and drop-in sessions from Chester-le-Street and Stanley, while providers such as Voyage Care support people with acquired brain injuries in supported living across the county. Rehabilitation support workers here help the people they support rebuild everyday skills and independence after a brain injury, work closely related to the complex-care roles that involve tracheostomy and other clinical support.
Not sure which fits? See all care & support roles →
The Novello app
Your work life, in one app
Find County Durham shifts, see your confirmed pay and keep your compliance in one place. No more chasing paperwork. Everything you need, on iOS and Android.
For County Durham employers
Hiring across County Durham?
Compliant local nurses, ODPs and care staff for wards, homes and theatre lists from Durham to Darlington, whenever your rota needs them.
From nursing homes in Chester-le-Street and Peterlee to community services around Bishop Auckland and theatre lists in Durham and Darlington, we supply vetted, fully compliant staff who know the area. Tell us what your rota needs and we will fill the gaps with people who turn up ready to work.
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
County Durham nursing agency FAQs
Which areas of County Durham does Novello cover?
We cover the whole county, from Durham city, Darlington and Chester-le-Street to Consett, Stanley, Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Seaham, Peterlee, Spennymoor and dales towns like Barnard Castle. If you are near a hospital, care home or community team in County Durham, there is work close by.
What kinds of shifts can I pick up?
Hospital wards and theatres, nursing and residential homes, community nursing, and mental health and secure settings. That ranges from acute wards at the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial to care homes across the county and mental health work with Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys settings such as Lanchester Road Hospital.
Do you cover prison healthcare in County Durham?
The county has a large prison estate, with HMP Durham in the city, the high-security HMP Frankland and the women's prison HMP Low Newton at Brasside, and HMP Deerbolt at Barnard Castle. Prison healthcare is autonomous, varied work, and when secure shifts are available we list them in the app for nurses who enjoy that clinical independence.
How does pay work?
Every shift shows its rate before you accept it, so you always know what you will earn. Once you have worked a shift your timesheet and pay are handled through the app without the usual chasing, and you book everything from your phone.
I run a service in County Durham. Can Novello supply staff?
Yes. Whether you run a nursing home in Peterlee, a community service around Bishop Auckland or a theatre list in Durham or Darlington, we supply vetted, fully compliant nurses, ODPs and care staff who know the area. Tell us your rota needs and we will help fill them.
Ready to pick up shifts in County Durham?
Register with Novello and start booking shifts that fit your life, with pay confirmed before you accept and a local team behind you. It takes just a few minutes to join.
Call 0333 307 8897 · hello@novellohealthcare.com
