Find nursing shifts across South East Wales
Book NHS and care shifts from Cardiff and Newport to Merthyr Tydfil and Bridgend in a few taps, see your confirmed pay before you accept, and get paid without chasing timesheets. Novello is built for nurses and carers who want steady work close to home.
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Looking for work in South East Wales?
Leave your details and we’ll come back to you with the nursing, care and support shifts we have near you in South East Wales — and what they pay. It takes about twenty seconds.
Nursing in South East Wales
Why nurses choose Novello in South East Wales
Work that fits around your life, with none of the usual agency runaround.
Shifts near you, not across the region
Whether you are in Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil or out towards Monmouthshire and the heads of the Valleys, you pick the shifts that suit you. The app shows what is available nearby, so you are not driving the length of the M4 or up and down a valley for a single shift.
Confirmed pay before you say yes
There are no vague promises here. Your confirmed rate is shown in the app before you accept, so you know exactly what you will earn on every shift, and you are paid promptly with no chasing timesheets or waiting weeks to find out where you stand.
Compliance sorted once, then out of your way
We handle your DBS, mandatory training and NMC revalidation properly, and we understand what Care Inspectorate Wales and Social Care Wales registration expect of the services you work in. Sort it once and you can move between a Cardiff ward, a Rhondda care home and a Newport mental health unit without repeating the same paperwork for every placement.
The region we cover
The healthcare landscape in South East Wales
Around 1.57 million people live across the ten areas covered here, roughly half the population of Wales, and their hospitals, mental health services and care homes all lean on flexible nursing staff.
Health and social care in Wales is devolved, and NHS services are run by local health boards rather than NHS trusts. Three health boards cover this region. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board serves around 500,000 people in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, running the University Hospital of Wales at the Heath, the largest hospital in the country, along with University Hospital Llandough, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales on the UHW site, Cardiff Royal Infirmary, St David’s Hospital and Barry Hospital. Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board provides primary, community, hospital and mental health services to the 450,000 people living in Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf, through three district general hospitals, Prince Charles in Merthyr Tydfil, the Royal Glamorgan at Llantrisant and the Princess of Wales in Bridgend. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board covers Newport, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire, employs over 14,000 staff including some 6,000 nurses, midwives, allied professionals and community workers, and centres its acute care on The Grange University Hospital at Cwmbran, a roughly 470-bed specialist and critical care hospital that opened in November 2020 with a 24/7 emergency department and helipad.
Around those big sites sits a deep second tier. The Royal Gwent in Newport and Nevill Hall in Abergavenny now work as enhanced local general hospitals, with Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr at Ystrad Mynach and Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan at Ebbw Vale alongside them, while Cwm Taf Morgannwg runs community hospitals including Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda, Ysbyty George Thomas, Maesteg and Pontypridd Cottage. Velindre University NHS Trust, one of only three NHS trusts in Wales, delivers specialist non-surgical cancer care for South East Wales from the Velindre Cancer Centre in Whitchurch, with a new centre under construction and due to open in spring 2027. Mental health services are substantial too, from the 129-bed Hafan y Coed unit at Llandough to St Cadoc’s at Caerleon, the Talygarn Unit at Griffithstown and Glanrhyd Hospital in Bridgend. Three of the five prisons in Wales are here as well, giving secure healthcare a real presence in the region.
Where we work
Where we cover in South East Wales
From the Cardiff and Newport city belt up through the Valleys to Monmouthshire and the Vale, we place nurses and carers across every setting.
Hospitals and theatres
We support wards, day units and operating theatres across the region’s three health boards, from the University Hospital of Wales and Llandough in Cardiff to The Grange at Cwmbran, the Royal Gwent in Newport, the Royal Glamorgan at Llantrisant, Prince Charles in Merthyr Tydfil and the Princess of Wales in Bridgend.
Care homes and community
Care homes and domiciliary support services across Cardiff, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Caerphilly, Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan rely on regular agency cover, and the community hospitals dotted through the region, Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda, Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Maesteg and Barry among them, add a steady stream of step-down and rehabilitation work.
Mental health and secure care
We cover mental health inpatient units and secure settings, from Hafan y Coed at Llandough and St Cadoc’s in Caerleon to the mental health unit at the Royal Glamorgan and Glanrhyd Hospital in Bridgend, as well as healthcare inside HMP Cardiff, HMP and YOI Parc at Bridgend and HMP Usk with its open site at Prescoed.
That takes in Cardiff, Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Monmouthshire.
Bordering areas we also cover include Wales, South West Wales and the South West.
On the map
Nursing shifts across South East Wales
We place nurses and carers from Cardiff and Newport out through the Valleys to Bridgend and Monmouthshire.
Specialisms in South East Wales
Specialisms we cover across South East Wales
Whatever your ward or setting, from the Cardiff teaching hospitals to Valleys care homes and secure units in Bridgend, there is regular work here.
- Nursing & care homes
- Mental health
- Prison nursing
- Critical care
- Theatres
Nursing & care homes
Care in Wales is regulated by Care Inspectorate Wales, and its figures show a sector in the middle of a shift. As at 31 March 2025 there were 1,018 adult care home services and 750 domiciliary support services registered across Wales, with domiciliary support up 7.9 per cent in a single year as Wales prioritises care at home, and the number of care home places gradually falling over the last decade even as demand for beds stays high. With roughly half the Welsh population living in this region, and Newport and Cardiff seeing the largest population increases of any Welsh local authority in the year to mid-2024, nursing and residential homes from the Vale to Blaenau Gwent need steady, reliable cover, and it is some of the most consistent work we offer. Social care staff here register with Social Care Wales and nurses with the NMC, and Welsh speakers among residents mean the Active Offer matters in day-to-day care.
Mental health
Mental health work spans all three health boards. Cardiff and Vale runs Hafan y Coed at University Hospital Llandough, a 129-bed adult unit opened in 2016 covering crisis assessment, treatment wards, low secure, rehabilitation, psychiatric intensive care, addiction and neuropsychiatry. Aneurin Bevan runs St Cadoc’s Hospital in Caerleon, with inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, a psychiatric intensive care unit, CAMHS and older-adult services, and the 22-bed Talygarn Unit at County Hospital in Griffithstown. Cwm Taf Morgannwg has its mental health unit at the Royal Glamorgan, with admissions, PICU and older persons’ wards, plus Glanrhyd Hospital in Bridgend and Tŷ Llidiard, the Tier 4 inpatient CAMHS unit serving South, Mid and West Wales. We place mental health nurses and support workers into inpatient wards, community teams and secure units.
Prison nursing
Three of the five prisons in Wales sit inside this region. HMP Cardiff is a Category B and C men’s prison in Adamsdown, where healthcare is delivered by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board with around 50 whole-time-equivalent staff based inside the prison seven days a week. HMP and YOI Parc in Bridgend is a Category B men’s prison and young offender institution holding roughly 1,800 people, and the only privately operated prison in Wales. HMP Usk in Monmouthshire is a Category C prison with its open satellite, HMP Prescoed, at Coed-y-Paen. Healthcare in Welsh public-sector prisons has been delivered through the local health board since 2006, and it is some of the most rewarding work going for nurses who want something different from a ward.
Critical care
Critical care across the region centres on the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, the major trauma centre for adults and children in the South Wales Trauma Network since it went live in September 2020. Below it sit trauma units including The Grange University Hospital at Cwmbran, Prince Charles in Merthyr Tydfil and the Princess of Wales in Bridgend, with the Royal Glamorgan and Nevill Hall as local emergency hospitals. Burns patients from the region are referred on to the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston in Swansea, the only burns service in Wales. We place experienced ITU and HDU nurses where the pressure is highest.
Theatres
Theatre work runs right across the patch, from the University Hospital of Wales and Llandough in Cardiff to The Grange at Cwmbran and the Royal Gwent in Newport, while the three Cwm Taf Morgannwg district generals, the Royal Glamorgan, Prince Charles and the Princess of Wales, all run full surgical lists. Alongside them, Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff provides the region’s specialist non-surgical cancer care. We place scrub, anaesthetic and recovery nurses across elective and emergency work.
Care & support work in South East Wales
Care and support work in South East Wales
Most care across South East Wales is delivered by care assistants and support workers rather than registered nurses. This is the largest population centre in Wales — around 1.57 million people across ten local authorities, from Cardiff and Newport up through the Valleys to Monmouthshire — and the work spans elderly care homes, supported living and specialist neuro-rehabilitation. Care here is regulated by Care Inspectorate Wales and staff register with Social Care Wales, so compliance follows the Welsh, not English, system. Whatever your background, there is regular work near you.
- Care assistant
- Support worker
- Dementia care
- Brain injury
Care assistant
Demand for care assistants is heaviest where the population is oldest, and in South East Wales that is Monmouthshire, where 25.9% of people are aged 65 or over and the median age of 49 is the joint second-highest in Wales, behind only Powys. The number of older people aged 65 to 74 there rose by around a quarter in the decade to 2021, and care assistants are the backbone of the county’s older people’s homes, supporting residents with everyday living, personal care and companionship.
Support worker
Alongside its care homes, South East Wales has a well-established supported-living sector: South Wales charities such as Innovate Trust, Mirus and Drive support adults with learning disabilities and complex needs in their own homes and communities across Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf. This reflects a national shift — Care Inspectorate Wales figures show domiciliary support services growing while care-home places fall as Wales prioritises care at home — so there is steady demand for support workers who help the people they support live as independently as possible, rather than in a care-home setting.
Dementia care
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board estimates that around 5,000 people in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan are living with dementia, a figure expected to keep climbing as the population ages, and its Memory Assessment Service supports people through diagnosis and beyond. Dementia care is some of the most valued work in the sector, supporting residents to live well day to day.
Brain injury
South East Wales has a genuine specialist neuro cluster at University Hospital Llandough, where the Llandough Centre for Specialist Spinal and Neurological Rehabilitation — a specialist spinal cord injury ward and neuro-rehabilitation unit that relocated from the old Rookwood Hospital in 2021 — takes patients from across South, Mid and West Wales. Headway Cardiff & South East Wales, based at the same hospital, supports 500 to 600 people a year affected by acquired brain injury. Rehabilitation support workers here help the people they support rebuild skills and independence after a brain or spinal 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 South East Wales shifts, see your confirmed pay and keep your compliance in one place. No more chasing paperwork. Everything you need, on iOS and Android.
For South East Wales employers
Need nurses in South East Wales?
We help services across the region fill shifts fast, with staff who are checked and ready.
Whether you run a care home in Cardiff or the Rhondda, a ward in Newport or Merthyr Tydfil, a mental health unit in Bridgend or a theatre list in the Vale of Glamorgan, we can supply compliant nurses and carers at short notice. Everyone we send is properly checked, and we can factor in Welsh language needs where a service asks for it. Tell us what you need and we will match reliable local staff who know the setting.
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
South East Wales nursing agency FAQs
What kind of nursing shifts can I pick up in South East Wales?
Plenty. We cover acute wards and theatres across Cardiff and Vale, Cwm Taf Morgannwg and Aneurin Bevan university health boards, from the University Hospital of Wales to The Grange at Cwmbran and the Princess of Wales in Bridgend, along with care homes, community hospitals, mental health units and prison healthcare.
Which areas of South East Wales do you cover?
All ten: Cardiff, Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Monmouthshire, from the M4 belt right up to the heads of the Valleys.
How does pay work?
Your confirmed rate is shown in the app before you accept, so you always know exactly what you will earn on a shift. You are paid promptly, with no chasing timesheets or waiting weeks to find out where you stand.
Do you place mental health and prison nurses?
Yes. The region has major mental health units including Hafan y Coed at Llandough, St Cadoc's in Caerleon and Glanrhyd in Bridgend, and three of the five prisons in Wales, HMP Cardiff, HMP and YOI Parc and HMP Usk with Prescoed. We place nurses and support workers into secure and inpatient settings as well as general wards.
I am an employer in South East Wales. Can you help us with staffing?
Yes. We supply checked, compliant nurses and carers to health board hospitals, care homes, mental health units and secure settings across Cardiff, Newport, the Valleys and Monmouthshire, often at short notice. Our staff meet NMC and Social Care Wales registration requirements, and we work to the standards Care Inspectorate Wales expects. Get in touch and we will help you fill your rota.
Ready to work on your terms across South East Wales?
Join Novello and start booking NHS and care shifts from Cardiff and Newport to Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Monmouthshire today, with your confirmed rate shown in the app before you accept and real support behind you. Download the app or get in touch to get started.
Call 0333 307 8897 · hello@novellohealthcare.com
