Lead Practice Nurse


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£48,000 to £53,000 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	London, SW2 1AE
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	14 Oct 2026
Closing date:	31 Oct 2026

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Summary

Job purpose To provide safe, effective and person-centred nursing care while leading, coordinating and supporting the practice nursing team. The Lead Nurse will provide professional leadership, help maintain consistent clinical standards, oversee agreed nursing systems and provide assurance to the Practice Partners and management team. The post holder remains personally accountable for their own clinical practice and does not replace the individual professional accountability of other registered clinicians. Accountability framework Each registered nurse remains professionally accountable for their own decisions, actions, omissions, competence and compliance with the NMC Code. The Lead Nurse is accountable for the reasonable leadership, coordination, monitoring and escalation functions allocated to the role, including acting when concerns are identified. The Lead Nurse is not automatically personally accountable for every act or omission of another clinician merely because they lead the nursing team. Where work is delegated, the Lead Nurse must ensure that delegation is appropriate, instructions are clear, and the person accepting the task has the necessary competence and support. Ultimate organisational and employer accountability remains with the Practice Partners and the practice management structure. Significant clinical, staffing, safety or resource concerns must be escalated promptly. The scope of the role must be supported by appropriate authority, protected leadership time, access to information, and agreed reporting arrangements. Key duties and responsibilities1. Clinical practice Provide nursing treatments independently or with GPs, within professional competence and agreed practice protocols. Undertake general and specific health assessment and screening, referring to a GP or other appropriate clinician when required. Provide services applicable to the practice, which may include cervical screening, immunisations, wound care, blood pressure monitoring, family planning, chronic disease management, healthy living advice, venepuncture and new-patient assessment. Maintain accurate, contemporaneous patient records and relevant activity data. Work in accordance with the NMC Code, evidence-based practice, local pathways, patient group directions and practice policies relevant to the service delivered. Maintain confidentiality, informed consent, safeguarding awareness and appropriate clinical escalation. 2. Professional leadership and team coordination Provide visible day-to-day professional leadership for the nursing team and promote a supportive, respectful and learning-focused culture. Coordinate nursing workload and deployment within the authority and resources agreed by the Practice Partners and management team. Clarify roles, responsibilities and expected standards across the nursing team. Support induction, supervision, mentoring and development of nurses, nursing associates, healthcare assistants, students and other learners, within the post holders competence. Hold or contribute to regular nursing team meetings, communicate agreed actions and monitor completion. Identify capability, conduct, health, wellbeing or performance concerns and escalate or address them through the appropriate practice process. Formal employment decisions remain with authorised managers or Partners. Support recruitment and appraisal activity where requested and appropriately trained. 3. Clinical governance, quality and safety Coordinate nursing-related audits, quality improvement activity and reviews of clinical practice, with actions recorded, allocated and followed up. Monitor adherence to agreed nursing protocols and identify where policies, training or systems require review. Promote effective incident reporting, learning and implementation of agreed actions. Escalate serious or recurring concerns promptly. Support the investigation and clinical review of complaints relating to nursing services, while ensuring the practice complaints process and responsible manager are followed. Contribute nursing evidence and assurance for CQC readiness, infection prevention and control, safeguarding, medicines and vaccine governance, cold-chain management, emergency preparedness and other applicable regulatory requirements. Review relevant nursing performance, safety and service information and provide proportionate assurance reports to the Practice Partners and management team. Work with the practice safeguarding, infection prevention, medicines and other designated leads. The Lead Nurse only holds a named lead portfolio where this has been expressly allocated, supported and documented. 4. Workforce competence, training and professional registration Maintain an overview of role-relevant nursing competencies, mandatory training and professional registration checks through agreed practice systems. Identify training needs and support an annual or role-based training plan for the nursing team. Ensure staff are not knowingly allocated work outside confirmed competence and escalate any gaps that affect safe service delivery. Provide or arrange clinical supervision and learning opportunities within available resources. Maintain the post holders own NMC registration, continuing professional development, required training and evidence of competence. Undertake or coordinate competency assessments where the Lead Practice Nurse is appropriately trained, competent and authorised to assess the relevant area of practice. Maintain an agreed competency framework and assurance record for nursing staff and healthcare assistants, identifying gaps, supervision requirements and review dates. Ensure effective induction and preceptorship arrangements are in place for new members of the nursing team, proportionate to their experience and role. 5. Clinical systems, supplies and service delivery Oversee agreed systems for vaccines, medicines, clinical stock, equipment, emergency medicines, consumables and associated records, with specific tasks delegated to competent staff where appropriate. Ensure identified equipment or supply issues are acted upon or escalated to the responsible manager. Contribute to safe, effective use of the clinical system, templates, coding and recall processes relevant to nursing services. Help plan and improve nursing services according to patient need, practice priorities, commissioned requirements and available capacity. Liaise as appropriate with GPs, managers, pharmacies, community services, commissioners, local authorities, social care and voluntary organisations. Contribute to nursing workforce planning, skills-mix review, clinic design, rota planning, annual leave coordination and service-capacity reviews, with final staffing decisions remaining with authorised managers or Practice Partners. Monitor nursing capacity and identify where staffing levels, skill mix or clinical demand may affect patient access, safety or service delivery, escalating concerns appropriately. Support delivery and monitoring of nursing contributions to QOF, enhanced services, locally commissioned services and other agreed practice clinical targets, while maintaining safe, individualised patient care. Oversee the effective use of nursing templates, SNOMED coding, clinical searches, recall systems and data-quality processes relevant to nursing services. 6. Policy, audit and improvement Lead or contribute to the development, review and implementation of nursing policies, protocols, standard operating procedures and clinical pathways. Participate in research, audit and quality improvement approved by the practice. Identify areas requiring improvement, agree proportionate actions with relevant leads and monitor progress. Promote equality, dignity, patient involvement and reduction of health inequalities within nursing services. Act as, or support, the practice Infection Prevention and Control Lead where this portfolio is expressly allocated, including completion of audits, maintenance of action plans, staff training, monitoring and provision of assurance evidence. Where the IPC Lead portfolio is not allocated to the post holder, work closely with the named IPC Lead and support implementation of agreed IPC actions across the nursing team. Support governance of vaccine storage and cold-chain processes, including monitoring, incident escalation and implementation of learning, within the responsibilities allocated by the practice. 7. Information governance, health and safety and security Follow practice requirements for confidentiality, information governance, data protection, record security and safe use of clinical systems. Comply with practice health and safety, fire, infection prevention, specimen handling, lone working, violence and aggression, accident and security procedures. Report incidents, hazards, near misses and concerns through the correct practice process and ensure urgent matters are escalated. Promote safe handling, storage and disposal of clinical equipment, medicines, vaccines, specimens and waste.

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