Find nursing shifts across Cumbria
Pick up nursing and care shifts across Cumbria through the Novello app, with the rate confirmed up front before you accept. Whether you are near the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, on the west coast around Whitehaven and Workington, or down in Furness, you choose the work that fits your week and we keep the admin light.
Quick enquiry
Looking for work in Cumbria?
Leave your details and we’ll come back to you with the nursing, care and support shifts we have near you in Cumbria — and what they pay. It takes about twenty seconds.
Nursing in Cumbria
Why nurses across Cumbria work with Novello
Local shifts, pay you can actually see, and a team that picks up the phone. No games.
Shifts close to home
Cumbria is a big, spread-out county, so we place nurses where you actually live and work: around Carlisle in the north, the west coast towns of Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport, the Furness peninsula near Barrow and Ulverston, and up through Kendal, Penrith, Keswick and the Lakes. If you are rural and used to travelling for work, we try hard to keep your bookings sensible rather than sending you across the county for a single shift.
Pay confirmed before you accept
You see the rate for every shift in the app before you commit, so there are no surprises and no chasing timesheets to find out what you earned. Book it, work it, get paid on schedule.
Compliance without the headache
We keep your NMC revalidation, DBS and mandatory training in order and remind you before anything is due, so you can stay ready for work across hospital, care home and community settings without the last-minute panic.
The county we cover
Cumbria’s healthcare landscape
Cumbria is one of England’s largest and most rural counties, and its care is split across two acute trusts and two mental health trusts. Knowing who runs what makes it far easier to find the right shift.
The north and west of the county are served by North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, formed in 2019 when Cumbria Partnership and North Cumbria University Hospitals merged. It runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, along with community hospitals and the midwife-led birth centre at Penrith Hospital. The south is covered by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness and Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal. There is no major trauma centre inside Cumbria: the most seriously injured patients in the north are taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle under the Northern Trauma Network, while the south routes to Royal Preston Hospital in the Lancashire and South Cumbria network. That split, plus the sheer distances involved, shapes how staffing works right across the county.
Mental health is divided the same way. In the north, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust runs the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle, home to acute wards including Hadrian and Rowanwood as well as crisis and rehabilitation services. In the south, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust runs inpatient units such as Dane Garth at Furness General in Barrow and Kentmere Ward at Westmorland General in Kendal. The county’s only prison is HMP Haverigg near Millom on the south-west coast, an open Category D establishment. Independent hospital provision is thin on the ground here compared with the cities, with much elective and diagnostic work delivered through NHS theatres and independent providers such as Cumbria Medical Services, and patients often travelling out to Lancaster, Preston or Manchester. Alongside all of this sits a large community nursing and care-home sector serving one of the oldest and most scattered populations in the country.
Where we work
What we cover across Cumbria
From acute wards to care homes and community rounds, here is where our Cumbria nurses and carers pick up work.
Hospitals and wards
Acute and ward-based shifts across the county’s main sites: the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven under North Cumbria Integrated Care, and Furness General in Barrow and Westmorland General in Kendal under Morecambe Bay. General medicine, surgical wards, elderly care and theatres.
Care homes and community
Nursing and residential homes plus community rounds across Carlisle, the west coast, Eden and the Lakes and the Furness towns. This is the biggest single source of work in a county with an older population and a lot of miles between settings, so there is nearly always something near you.
Mental health and secure
Mental health and learning-disability placements around the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle in the north and units such as Dane Garth in Barrow and Kentmere in Kendal in the south, plus healthcare shifts linked to HMP Haverigg near Millom.
We regularly place nurses and carers in Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Whitehaven, Workington, Penrith, Ulverston, Cockermouth, Windermere, Keswick, Maryport and Wigton.
Working across the border? We also cover the North West, Lancashire and Northumberland.
On the map
Where we place nurses in Cumbria
From Carlisle and the Solway coast down through Furness, Kendal and the Lake District, here is the ground our Cumbria team covers.
Specialisms in Cumbria
Specialisms we staff in Cumbria
From critical care at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle to mental health at the Carleton Clinic, wherever your experience sits there is Cumbria work to match it.
- Nursing & care homes
- Mental health
- Prison nursing
- Critical care
- Theatres
Nursing & care homes
Care homes are the backbone of nursing work in Cumbria. The county has a notably older age profile than the national average: the 2021 Census recorded South Lakeland as the oldest median-age area in Cumbria at around 51 years, while Barrow-in-Furness is the youngest. That, combined with how rural and sparsely populated much of Eden and the western fells are, means steady demand for nursing-home and dementia-care staff from the Solway coast down to the Furness peninsula. We place RGNs, RMNs and experienced carers into homes across Carlisle, Kendal, Penrith and the coastal towns.
Mental health
Mental health cover follows the county’s north-south split. Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust runs the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle, with acute wards including Hadrian and Rowanwood plus crisis and rehabilitation services for the north. In the south, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust runs inpatient units such as Dane Garth at Furness General in Barrow and Kentmere Ward at Westmorland General in Kendal. We place RMNs and mental health support staff into these settings and into community teams across the county.
Prison nursing
Cumbria has a single prison, HMP Haverigg near Millom on the south-west coast, an open Category D establishment holding several hundred men. Healthcare there covers primary care, medicines management and mental health, and it suits nurses who like autonomy in a smaller team. For nurses drawn to secure and forensic work, the county’s inpatient mental health units at the Carleton Clinic and Dane Garth offer the closest higher-acuity settings, with the wider North East and Lancashire estates within reach.
Critical care
Critical care in Cumbria centres on the acute sites: intensive care and coronary care at Furness General in Barrow, and critical care and emergency services at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. Because there is no major trauma centre in the county, the most complex cases are stabilised locally and transferred out, to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle from the north and Royal Preston Hospital from the south. We place ITU, HDU and A and E nurses into these units and their supporting wards.
Theatres
Theatre work in Cumbria runs mainly through the NHS: surgical lists at the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital in the north and Furness General and Westmorland General in the south. The independent hospital sector is limited here compared with the big cities, with elective and diagnostic capacity delivered through providers such as Cumbria Medical Services and patients often travelling to Lancaster, Preston or Manchester. We place scrub, anaesthetic and recovery nurses across these NHS theatres and any local independent lists.
Care & support work in Cumbria
Care and support work in Cumbria
Most care in Cumbria is delivered by care assistants and support workers rather than registered nurses. It is one of the oldest counties in England — 22.8% of the population was aged 65 or over at the 2021 Census, against 18.4% nationally — and adult social care is run across two unitary councils, Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness. The work spans rural elderly care homes, supported living and specialist neuro-rehabilitation. Whatever your background, there is regular work near you.
- Care assistant
- Support worker
- Dementia care
- Brain injury
Care assistant
Cumbria has one of the oldest age profiles in England: 22.8% of its population was aged 65 or over at the 2021 Census, well above the national figure of 18.4%. The pull is strongest in the rural south and east, where the former South Lakeland area recorded a median age of around 51 — the oldest in the county — and the Eden fells are among the most sparsely populated and elderly parts of the country. Care assistants are the backbone of these rural care homes, supporting older residents with everyday living, personal care and companionship across a lot of miles.
Support worker
Cumbria is one of relatively few parts of England where the councils still run a good deal of adult social care directly rather than commissioning it all out. Since the county split into two unitary authorities in 2023, Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council between them still operate their own care homes, supported living and day services, the legacy of the long-standing in-house provider Cumbria Care. For support workers that means steady demand from statutory as well as private employers, helping the people they support — including adults with learning disabilities, autism and physical disabilities — live as independently as possible in their own homes and out in the community.
Dementia care
Cumbria’s older-than-average population means high underlying dementia need, but formal diagnosis has lagged: in north Cumbria fewer than three in five people thought to have dementia have a recorded diagnosis, below the national ambition of two in three. That gap makes skilled, patient dementia care all the more valuable, supporting older residents to live well day to day in the county’s care homes.
Brain injury
North Cumbria Integrated Care runs a specialist Acquired Brain Injury Service, with its northern team based at The Coppice at the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle, providing community rehabilitation for people aged 16 and over. Rehabilitation support workers here help the people they support rebuild 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 Cumbria shifts, see your confirmed pay and keep your compliance in one place. No more chasing paperwork. Everything you need, on iOS and Android.
For Cumbria employers
Hiring nurses in Cumbria?
If you run a ward, home or unit anywhere in the county, we can help you fill it with people who know the patch.
We supply nursing and care staff to care homes, community services, hospital wards and mental health units right across Cumbria, from Carlisle and the west coast towns to Barrow, Kendal and the Lakes. Covering a rural county is its own challenge, so we focus on reliable, compliant staff who can reach you and turn up ready to work. Tell us what you need and we will match it.
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
Cumbria nursing shifts: your questions answered
Which NHS trusts run the hospitals in Cumbria?
Two acute trusts split the county. North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, plus community hospitals and the midwife-led birth centre at Penrith. University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow and Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal. We place nurses across all of these sites and the care and community settings around them.
Where do the most seriously injured patients in Cumbria go?
There is no major trauma centre inside Cumbria. Patients in the north are taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle under the Northern Trauma Network, and patients in the south route to Royal Preston Hospital in the Lancashire and South Cumbria network. Local emergency departments stabilise and transfer, which is worth knowing if you work in A and E or critical care.
Is there much mental health nursing work in Cumbria?
Yes, and it splits north and south. Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust runs the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle, with acute wards including Hadrian and Rowanwood. Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust runs units such as Dane Garth at Furness General in Barrow and Kentmere Ward at Westmorland General in Kendal. We place RMNs and support staff into these units and community teams.
Does Cumbria have a prison, and can I nurse there?
Cumbria has one prison, HMP Haverigg near Millom, an open Category D establishment on the south-west coast. Prison healthcare covers primary care, medicines management and mental health, and it suits nurses who enjoy working with more autonomy in a smaller team. We can talk you through what these placements involve.
How does pay work with the Novello app in Cumbria?
You see the rate for each shift before you accept it, right in the app. There is no ringing round to find out what a shift pays and no chasing timesheets afterwards. You book the work that suits you, complete it, and get paid on schedule.
Ready to pick up shifts in Cumbria?
Download the Novello app, get set up once, and start booking nursing and care shifts across Cumbria with your pay confirmed before you accept. Local work, honest rates, a team you can actually reach.
Call 0333 307 8897 · hello@novellohealthcare.com
