Find nursing shifts across the Isle of Wight
From Newport and Ryde to Ventnor and the west Wight, pick up shifts that fit your life. Hospital, care home, mental health, secure and community work, all booked through the Novello app with your pay confirmed before you accept.
Quick enquiry
Looking for work in Isle of Wight?
Leave your details and we’ll come back to you with the nursing, care and support shifts we have near you in Isle of Wight — and what they pay. It takes about twenty seconds.
Nursing in Isle of Wight
Why nurses register with Novello
One registration, steady work from St Mary’s to the west Wight, and a team that answers when you call.
Shifts close to home
Most Island nursing sits within a short drive, so you can pick up work at St Mary’s in Newport, in nursing and residential homes from Ryde down to Sandown, or out with community teams across the west Wight. No long commute, and no ferry needed just to get to your shift.
Know your pay up front
See your confirmed rate before you accept. No surprises, no chasing timesheets, and no wondering what you will actually be paid at the end of the week.
Compliance made simple
We keep your DBS, mandatory training and right-to-work checks in one place, so you are ready for your next shift and your revalidation is not a last-minute scramble.
The county we cover
The Island’s healthcare landscape
The Isle of Wight runs its NHS differently from anywhere else in England, and that shapes the nursing work here.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust is unusual in England: it runs the Island’s only acute hospital and its 999 ambulance and NHS 111 service as a single organisation, serving an island of around 140,000 people. Acute care is based at St Mary’s Hospital in Newport, the Island’s only general hospital, with an emergency department, intensive care, planned and emergency surgery, maternity, a special care baby unit and paediatrics. The Island’s 999 ambulance service and NHS 111 are run from the same Newport site. There is no major trauma centre on the Island, so the most seriously injured patients are stabilised at St Mary’s, which sits within the Wessex Trauma Network as a trauma unit, and transferred across the Solent to the major trauma centre at University Hospital Southampton by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance or by ferry.
Community nursing, district teams, learning disability and mental health services now sit with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which formed in October 2024 from Solent NHS Trust, Southern Health and the Island’s former community and mental health services. Its specialist and forensic mental health provision and its Specialist Community Forensic Service run across both Hampshire and the Island. At Newport, HMP Isle of Wight brings the former Albany and Parkhurst sites together into one large category B men’s prison, with prison healthcare delivered by Practice Plus Group and substance misuse care by Inclusion. In the independent sector, The Orchard Hospital on Fairlee Road in Newport provides private surgery and diagnostics on the Island, while the Practice Plus Group Isle of Wight clinic runs consultations, with surgery carried out at its Portsmouth surgical centre and more complex operations referred to the mainland.
Where we work
Where we place nurses on the Island
We cover the whole Island, not just Newport, and not just the hospital.
Hospital and theatre
Acute cover at St Mary’s in Newport: A&E, ITU, medical and surgical wards, theatres and recovery, plus the day-case and endoscopy work that keeps waiting lists moving.
Care homes and community
Nursing and residential homes from Ryde and Cowes down to Shanklin and Ventnor, plus community and district rounds serving the Island’s large older population.
Mental health and secure
Mental health, learning disability and secure work, including the forensic services now run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare and the healthcare wings at HMP Isle of Wight in Newport.
We place nurses in Newport, Ryde, Cowes, East Cowes, Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor, Freshwater, Bembridge and Yarmouth.
Working on the mainland? We also cover the South East and neighbouring Hampshire.
On the map
Our Isle of Wight coverage
See where we place nurses across the Island and the wider South East.
Specialisms in Isle of Wight
Specialisms we cover
Whatever your setting, there is regular work on the Island.
- Nursing & care homes
- Mental health
- Prison nursing
- Critical care
- Theatres
Nursing & care homes
The Isle of Wight has one of the oldest populations in England: at the 2021 Census 29.3% of Islanders were aged 65 or over, against 18.4% nationally, and that share is projected to keep rising. That means steady demand for nursing and residential care, and the Island leans more heavily on care homes for older people than most of England. When the CQC assessed the Council’s adult social care in 2025 it rated it ‘requires improvement’, which tells you how stretched the sector is. There is regular RGN and RMN work across the Island’s nursing and dementia homes.
Mental health
Mental health, learning disability and community services on the Island are now run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which launched in October 2024. Its remit runs from community mental health teams and crisis care through to specialist and forensic secure services and the Specialist Community Forensic Service shared with Hampshire. We place RMNs and support workers across inpatient, community and secure mental health settings.
Prison nursing
The Island holds one of the larger prison estates in the South, HMP Isle of Wight, which combines the former Albany and Parkhurst prisons at Newport into a single category B men’s establishment. Prison healthcare there is delivered by Practice Plus Group, with substance misuse services from Inclusion. Prison nursing is a distinct kind of work, closer to primary care and mental health than to a ward, and it suits nurses who want autonomy and structure.
Critical care
St Mary’s Hospital in Newport has its own intensive care unit, but because the Island has no major trauma centre the sickest patients are stabilised locally and moved to the major trauma centre at University Hospital Southampton by air ambulance or ferry across the Solent. Critical care and high-dependency nurses are always in demand, both on the unit and for safe transfers off the Island.
Theatres
Surgical work on the Island runs through the theatres at St Mary’s Hospital and, in the independent sector, through The Orchard Hospital in Newport, with the Practice Plus Group Isle of Wight clinic handling consultations and its surgery carried out at Portsmouth. More complex procedures are often referred to the mainland at Portsmouth or Southampton. We place scrub nurses, ODPs and recovery staff across NHS and independent lists.
Care & support work in Isle of Wight
Care and support work in Isle of Wight
Most care on the Isle of Wight is delivered by care assistants and support workers rather than registered nurses. The Island has one of the oldest populations in England — 29.3% of Islanders were aged 65 or over at the 2021 Census, against 18.4% nationally — and the Council both commissions private providers and runs its own in-house care homes to meet demand. The work spans elderly care homes, supported living and community learning-disability support. Whatever your background, there is regular work near you.
- Care assistant
- Support worker
- Dementia care
- Learning disability
Care assistant
The Isle of Wight has 36 residential care homes for older people, with 909 beds, plus 10 nursing homes providing a further 457 beds — a lot of capacity for an island of around 140,000 people, driven by one of the oldest populations in England. Staff turnover in Island social care runs at about 46%, well above the England average of around 28%, so homes here are always looking for reliable people, and care assistants who already live on the Island are especially valued. They are the backbone of these homes, supporting residents with everyday living, personal care and companionship.
Support worker
Away from its care homes, the Island is following the national shift towards supported living, where people with a learning disability or autism live in their own flats with a care package rather than in residential care. Achieve Together runs one such service in Ryde — a supported living home with five en-suite rooms and a self-contained flat — where support workers help the people they support build daily living skills and move towards greater independence.
Dementia care
An estimated 2,655 Islanders aged over 65 are living with dementia, a figure the Isle of Wight Dementia Strategy expects to rise to around 3,920 by 2030 as the Island’s older population grows. Diagnosis and memory assessment on the Island are run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Dementia care is some of the most valued work in the sector, supporting residents to live well day to day.
Learning disability
Learning-disability and autism support on the Island is coordinated by the Isle of Wight Community Learning Disability Team, based at Sandown Civic Centre, which supports adults living on the Island as well as Islanders placed in specialist units on the mainland. The Council’s learning-disability strategy is pushing to keep more people supported in the community and close to home, so there is steady demand for support workers who help the people they support live as independently as possible.
Not sure which fits? See all care & support roles →
The Novello app
Your work life, in one app
Find Isle of Wight shifts, see your confirmed pay and keep your compliance in one place. No more chasing paperwork. Everything you need, on iOS and Android.
For Isle of Wight employers
Hiring nurses on the Isle of Wight?
We work with employers right across the Island.
Whether you run a nursing home in Ryde, a residential home in Sandown, a domiciliary service across the west Wight or a ward that needs safe cover this weekend, we can help. We supply RGNs, RMNs, ODPs and care staff to hospital, care, mental health and community settings from Newport to Ventnor, all compliant and 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
Isle of Wight nursing questions
Do you cover the whole Isle of Wight or just Newport?
The whole Island. St Mary's Hospital in Newport is the main acute site, but we place nurses in care homes, community teams and mental health settings from Ryde and Cowes to Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor.
What kind of nursing work is there on the Island?
A real mix. Acute and theatre work at St Mary's, a large amount of care-home and community nursing driven by the Island's older population, mental health and learning disability work with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare, and prison healthcare at HMP Isle of Wight in Newport.
Is there a major trauma centre on the Isle of Wight?
No. The Island has no major trauma centre, so the most seriously injured patients are stabilised at St Mary's and transferred to University Hospital Southampton by air ambulance or ferry. St Mary's does have its own intensive care unit.
Which NHS trusts run services on the Island?
Isle of Wight NHS Trust runs acute care at St Mary's and the Island's ambulance service. Since October 2024, community, mental health and learning disability services have been run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
How does pay work?
You see your confirmed rate before you accept any shift, right in the Novello app. No chasing, no surprises, and your timesheet is handled digitally.
Ready to pick up Island shifts?
Register with Novello in a few minutes, upload your documents, and start seeing Isle of Wight shifts with your pay confirmed up front. If we do not have the right shift for you today, we will as the Island's rotas fill.
Call 0333 307 8897 · hello@novellohealthcare.com
