Recovery Nurse

HDU / Recovery Lead Nurse

Location: Central London
Salary:£45,000+ Excellent Benefits
Job Type: Full-Time | Permanent

Are you an experienced HDU / Recovery Nurse ready to take the next step into a leadership role? We're recruiting on behalf of a leading independent private healthcare provider for an exceptional HDU / Recovery Lead Nurse to join a highly regarded surgical and critical care team in Central London.

This is an exciting opportunity for a dedicated Registered Nurse with extensive experience in High Dependency Unit (HDU), Critical Care, and Post Anaesthetic Care (PACU) to lead a dynamic department delivering outstanding patient care and clinical excellence.

As the HDU / Recovery Lead Nurse
, you will provide operational and clinical leadership across the High Dependency Unit and Theatre Recovery, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, evidence-based care for surgical and critically ill patients.

You'll lead a multidisciplinary team, oversee daily operations, manage staffing and resources, support outreach services to inpatient wards, and ensure compliance with CQC, ICAS and national clinical standards. This role combines hands‑on clinical practice with leadership, governance and service development.

• Lead the day‑to‑day management of the HDU and Recovery departments.
• Deliver exceptional Level 2 critical care, with Level 3 support where required.
• Provide expert post‑anaesthetic recovery care within Theatre Recovery.
• Lead, mentor and develop the HDU and Recovery nursing team.
• Coordinate staffing, resources and departmental operations.
• Deliver an outreach service supporting deteriorating patients across inpatient wards.
• Work collaboratively with consultants, anaesthetists and multidisciplinary teams.
• Promote clinical governance, patient safety and continuous quality improvement.
• Ensure compliance with CQC, ICAS and professional practice standards.
• Participate in education, training and competency development of staff.
• Support emergency response teams and participate in the on‑call rota, including nights.
• Drive service improvement and maintain exceptional patient outcomes.

To be considered for this opportunity, you will have:

• Current NMC Registered Nurse registration.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in Recovery Nursing.
• Minimum 5 years' experience within Critical Care or HDU.
• Recognised postgraduate Critical Care qualification.
• Teaching or Mentorship qualification.
• Management and Leadership qualification.
• Previous leadership or management experience within HDU, Recovery or Critical Care.
• Experience with in the independent healthcare sector is desirable.
• Excellent knowledge of post‑anaesthetic care, critical care and clinical governance.
• Strong leadership, communication and organisational skills.
• A passion for delivering safe, high‑quality patient‑centred care.

Our client offers an excellent rewards package including:

• Competitive salary
• Private healthcare
• Generous annual leave
• Blue Light Card discounts
• Interest‑free season ticket loan
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Staff wellbeing initiatives
• Discounted gym membership
• Ongoing professional development and funded training
• Career progression opportunities
• Employee referral scheme
• Retail and lifestyle discounts
• Recognition awards and staff events

If you're an experienced HDU Lead Nurse
, Recovery Lead Nurse
, Critical Care Nurse
, PACU Nurse
, or Senior Recovery Nurse looking to join a forward‑thinking private healthcare provider committed to clinical excellence, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today to find out more about this exciting leadership opportunity. Call Clara on  for more information.