Lead Nurse

As Lead Nurse for Adult Critical Care and Cardiac Ward, you'll take on a pivotal leadership role at Cromwell Hospital, directly responsible for the day-to‑day operational and clinical management of our Adult Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Ward services. The post holder will play a critical role in ensuring that care pathways are joined up across the hospital and its associated outpatient centres, acting as lead nurse for connected care pathways and providing professional oversight to the pathway's clinical services manager. This is an influential position within our nursing leadership team, critical to delivering Cromwell Hospital's strategy. You'll advance change across four key areas: quality, patient experience, financial efficiency, and leadership development – while acting as a role model for clinical excellence and compassionate care. Responsibilities Provide strong, visible clinical leadership across Adult Critical Care and Cardiac Ward services, inspiring nursing teams and promoting best practice. Ensure care standards are defined, delivered, and monitored in line with regulatory and professional requirements. Act as lead nurse for connected care pathways, providing professional oversight and supporting clinical service managers. Drive improvements in patient experience, clinical quality, and operational efficiency through evidence-based practice and innovation. Collaborate with consultants and multidisciplinary teams to develop new procedures, protocols, and service enhancements. Lead on clinical governance, audits, and compliance with CQC and other regulatory frameworks. Mentor and develop senior nurses, building capability and succession pipelines within the nursing workforce. Manage resources effectively, ensuring safe staffing levels and cost efficiency across all areas of responsibility. Promote a culture of continuous improvement, research, and learning within nursing teams. Qualifications Active NMC Registration as an Adult Nurse. Teaching/assessing qualification. Management qualification or equivalent experience. Post-qualification Intensive Care course. Substantial clinical experience within an acute hospital setting, including Level 3 Intensive Care Unit experience and completion of critical care competencies in line with GPICS standards. Strong knowledge of NMC codes, CQC requirements, and clinical governance frameworks. Excellent communication, influencing, and leadership skills. Financial awareness and experience in resource management. Previous experience in cardiac or critical care specialties. Desirable Diploma in Management Studies or equivalent. ALS certification. Our benefits are designed to make health happen for our people. Viva is our global wellbeing programme and includes all aspects of our health – from mental and physical, to financial, social, and environmental wellbeing. We support flexible working and have a range of family-friendly benefits. Joining Bupa in this role you will receive the following benefits and more: Payment of professional registration fees. Equivalent to 25 days holiday per year, increasing through length of service, with option to buy or sell. Bupa health insurance as a benefit in kind. An enhanced pension plan and life insurance. Onsite gyms or local discounts where no onsite gym available. Various other benefits and online discounts. Why Bupa? We're a health insurer and provider. With no shareholders, our customers are our focus. Our people are all driven by the same purpose – helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. We make health happen by being brave, caring, and responsible in everything we do. We encourage all our people to "Be you at Bupa", we champion diversity, and we understand the importance of our people representing the communities and customers we serve. That's why we especially encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Bupa is a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. This means we aim to offer an interview/assessment to every disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the role. We'll make sure you are treated fairly and offer reasonable adjustments as part of our recruitment process to anyone that needs them. #J-18808-Ljbffr