Find nursing shifts across Dorset
Novello Healthcare puts nursing work across Dorset in your pocket. Book shifts from Bournemouth to Bridport through our app, see the confirmed pay before you accept, and get paid without the chasing. Register today and choose the work that suits you.
Quick enquiry
Looking for work in Dorset?
Leave your details and we’ll come back to you with the nursing, care and support shifts we have near you in Dorset — and what they pay. It takes about twenty seconds.
Nursing in Dorset
Why nurses choose Novello in Dorset
The things that actually matter when you are on your feet all shift.
Shifts that fit your life
From the big acute wards at Royal Bournemouth and Poole to care and community settings around Weymouth, Dorchester and the Purbeck coast, you choose where and when you work. Book, swap or cancel from the app and build a pattern that fits around family and the school run.
Pay you can see up front
Every shift shows its confirmed rate before you accept it, so there are no nasty surprises and no haggling on the phone. We pay promptly and we chase the timesheets so you do not have to.
Compliance made painless
Our team handles your NMC registration checks, DBS, mandatory training and revalidation paperwork and keeps it all current. So when a ward at Poole or a nursing home in Weymouth needs cover tomorrow, you are ready to walk straight in.
The county we cover
The Dorset healthcare landscape
A quick look at who runs what across the county, so you know exactly where your shifts sit.
Acute hospital care in the county is led by two NHS trusts. University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, formed when Poole Hospital joined the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch trust, runs the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Poole Hospital and Christchurch Hospital across the conurbation. Under its Transforming Care Together programme the trust is reshaping these sites, with the Royal Bournemouth becoming its major emergency hospital, home to the new BEACH building for births, emergency and critical care, and Poole becoming its dedicated planned care hospital. To the west, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Dorchester serves the rural half of the county with its own emergency department, critical care and maternity units. Dorset has no major trauma centre of its own, so the most seriously injured patients are taken out of county to the Wessex Major Trauma Centre at University Hospital Southampton.
Mental health and community services sit with Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, whose main inpatient site at St Ann’s Hospital in Poole includes the Haven psychiatric intensive care unit alongside wards for older people and a dedicated eating disorders unit, backed by the Forston Clinic at Charminster near Dorchester and a network of community hospitals and minor injuries units from Bridport to Wimborne. Secure and prison healthcare is a real part of the local picture too, with HMP The Verne and HMP and YOI Portland on the Isle of Portland and HMP Guys Marsh near Shaftesbury. On the independent side, Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital on Lansdowne Road and The Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester carry a steady list of private surgical work.
Where we work
Where we cover in Dorset
We place nurses right across the county, from the busy south-east conurbation to the rural west and the coast.
Hospitals and theatres
We supply nurses across the acute sites of the Bournemouth and Poole conurbation and Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, covering general wards, day surgery and theatre lists.
Care homes and community
Dorset has one of the oldest populations in England, and its nursing and residential homes along the coast from Christchurch through Poole to Weymouth lean heavily on reliable agency cover.
Mental health and secure
From St Ann’s Hospital in Poole to the prison estate on Portland, we support mental health, learning disability and secure settings the length of the county.
We cover Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth, Dorchester, Christchurch, Bridport, Wimborne, Blandford Forum, Sherborne, Swanage and the towns in between.
Working across the border? We also cover the South West, Hampshire and Devon.
On the map
Our Dorset coverage map
Have a look at where we place nurses across Dorset and the hospitals and towns we cover.
Specialisms in Dorset
Specialisms we cover across Dorset
Wherever your skills sit, there is Dorset work to match them.
- Nursing & care homes
- Mental health
- Prison nursing
- Critical care
- Theatres
Nursing & care homes
Dorset is one of the oldest counties in England. At the 2021 census nearly 30 per cent of Dorset Council area residents were aged 65 or over, well above the England average of around 18 per cent, and the coastal retirement towns push demand for nursing and residential care high. We supply RGNs, RMNs and healthcare assistants into care and nursing homes from Ferndown and Wimborne down to Weymouth and Portland, covering everything from regular block shifts to one-off cover.
Mental health
Mental health nursing in Dorset centres on Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust. Its main inpatient site, St Ann’s Hospital in Poole, runs acute adult wards, the Haven psychiatric intensive care unit, older people’s mental health and a specialist eating disorders unit, while the Forston Clinic at Charminster near Dorchester serves the west of the county. We place RMNs into these kinds of acute, PICU and community mental health roles.
Prison nursing
The county has a genuine cluster of custodial sites. HMP The Verne and HMP and YOI Portland sit side by side on the Isle of Portland, and HMP Guys Marsh is a category C men’s prison near Shaftesbury. Prison healthcare here is commissioned through the NHS, and we supply nurses who are comfortable in secure environments, where clinics, medication rounds and mental health support all run to the regime.
Critical care
Critical care in Dorset is concentrated at the Royal Bournemouth and Poole hospitals and at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, each with its own intensive care and high dependency provision. Because there is no major trauma centre in the county, the most serious trauma is transferred to the Wessex Major Trauma Centre at University Hospital Southampton, which leaves local ITU teams managing a demanding acute and post-operative caseload. We place experienced critical care nurses into these units.
Theatres
Theatre work in Dorset spans the NHS lists at Poole, which is becoming the trust’s dedicated planned care hospital, and Dorset County Hospital, alongside the independent sector at Nuffield Health Bournemouth and The Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester, which runs three theatres. We supply scrub, anaesthetic and recovery nurses across both.
Care & support work in Dorset
Care and support work in Dorset
Most care in Dorset is delivered by care assistants and support workers rather than registered nurses. Adult social care here is run by two unitary councils — Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole — serving one of the oldest populations in England, and the work spans 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
Dorset is one of the oldest counties in England: at the 2021 census nearly 30 per cent of Dorset Council area residents were aged 65 or over, well above the England average of around 18 per cent. Across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole conurbation alone there are well over a hundred CQC-registered care homes, and the coastal retirement towns keep demand high. Care assistants are the backbone of these homes, supporting older residents with everyday living, personal care and companionship.
Support worker
Dorset Council funds a social care support package for close to a thousand adults with a learning disability or autism, and its A Better Life strategy is actively shifting support away from residential care and long-stay hospitals towards supported living. 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
Dorset has one of the highest rates of recorded dementia of any NHS area in England, a direct reflection of its ageing coastal population. Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust runs the local memory assessment and intensive community support services that keep people diagnosed and supported at home for longer. Dementia care is some of the most valued work in the sector, supporting older residents to live well day to day.
Brain injury
Dorset has a genuine specialist neuro cluster. Portland Ward at Poole Hospital is an NHS specialist neuro-rehabilitation unit with dedicated acquired brain injury beds, and recovery is continued in the community by Dorset HealthCare’s brain injury rehabilitation team and Headway Dorset’s support groups across the county. 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 Dorset shifts, see your confirmed pay and keep your compliance in one place. No more chasing paperwork. Everything you need, on iOS and Android.
For Dorset employers
Hiring nurses in Dorset?
If you run a service in the county and need dependable cover, we can help.
Whether you run a nursing home in Ferndown, a ward in Poole or a community team out towards Bridport, Novello can fill your nursing gaps quickly with fully compliant RGNs, RMNs and healthcare assistants. Tell us what you need and we will get cover to you.
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
Dorset nursing agency FAQs
Which hospitals does Novello cover in Dorset?
We place nurses across the county's acute sites, including the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Poole Hospital and Christchurch Hospital run by University Hospitals Dorset, and Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester. We also cover care homes, community services and secure settings across Dorset.
Do you offer mental health nursing work in Dorset?
Yes. Mental health services in Dorset are led by Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, with its main inpatient site at St Ann's Hospital in Poole and the Forston Clinic near Dorchester. We regularly place RMNs into acute, PICU and community mental health settings.
Is there prison nursing work in Dorset?
There is. Dorset has HMP The Verne and HMP and YOI Portland on the Isle of Portland and HMP Guys Marsh near Shaftesbury. Prison healthcare is commissioned through the NHS, and we supply nurses who are experienced or keen to work in secure environments.
How much do nursing shifts in Dorset pay?
Pay varies by role, specialism, setting and the time of day, so we do not quote a single rate. What we can promise is that you always see the confirmed pay for each shift in the app before you accept it, with no haggling and prompt payment.
Can I find care home shifts near me in Dorset?
Almost certainly. Dorset has one of the oldest populations in England, so demand for nursing and residential care is high, especially in the coastal towns. We cover homes from Christchurch and Ferndown through Poole and Wimborne down to Weymouth, Dorchester and Portland.
Ready to pick up shifts in Dorset?
Register with Novello Healthcare today, download the app and start booking nursing shifts across Dorset with the pay confirmed before you say yes.
Call 0333 307 8897 · hello@novellohealthcare.com
