Senior Theatre Nurse in London

Our Clinic Partner: The Ghanem Clinic

Salary Range: £46,000 - £56,000

About the Role

The Senior Theatre Nurse at The Ghanem Clinic is a distinctive and highly skilled clinical role that sits at the heart of the clinic's surgical programme. The postholder brings together expert perioperative nursing practice and advanced clinical responsibilities across the full surgical day, from pre-operative patient assessment through to safe post-operative discharge. This breadth of ownership is central to how The Ghanem Clinic delivers the standard of care its patients expect.

The postholder is the primary clinical nursing presence on every day of surgery, carrying responsibility for theatre practice, patient assessment, surgical pathway documentation, specimen handling, controlled drugs governance, and CQC compliance. Working with a high degree of autonomy under the clinical oversight of The Registered Manager, they act as the clinical anchor of the surgical day, ensuring every stage of the patient journey is safely managed, thoroughly documented, and delivered to the highest professional standard.

Key Responsibilities

• Perioperative Theatre Nursing
  • Prepare and maintain the operating theatre environment, ensuring all equipment, instruments, and supplies are sterile, correctly set up, and ready for use prior to each procedure.
  • Act in scrub, circulating, and/or anaesthetic nurse roles as directed by the clinical team.
  • Assist the surgeon and anaesthetist across a range of elective procedures, including but not limited to aesthetic, facial, and reconstructive surgery.
  • Conduct the intra-operative phase in accordance with WHO Surgical Safety Checklist requirements, ensuring Time Out is completed, documented, and signed.
  • Monitor patients in the recovery room, assessing observations and escalating concerns promptly to the responsible clinician.
  • Adhere to infection prevention and control protocols and the clinic's peri-operative cleaning checklists (pre- and post-procedure).
  • Complete the Theatre Log Book entry immediately after each procedure, ensuring all mandatory fields are recorded accurately.
  • Manage theatre stock, instrument trays, and supplies, including liaising with Steris for instrument sterilisation, collection scheduling, and traceability documentation via the SynergyTrak portal.
  • Handle and dispose of clinical waste in accordance with HTM 07-01, colour-coded segregation requirements, and the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
• Pre-Operative Clinical Assessment
  • On the day of surgery, conduct thorough pre-operative assessments with each patient using the clinic's surgical pathway documentation.
  • Review and complete the Medical History Review section with the patient directly, confirming no changes since the GP pre-operative check and documenting any new medications, symptoms, or recent illness.
  • Complete the Preoperative Assessment section in full, including confirmation of escort arrangements for patients undergoing sedation or general anaesthesia.
  • Escalate any clinical changes or concerns identified during pre-operative assessment to the responsible consultant before the procedure commences.
  • Confirm consent documentation is in place and fully signed prior to any procedure commencing.
  • Work through the Pre-Procedure Checklist with each patient in a thorough and unhurried manner.
• Surgical Pathway Documentation Coordination
  • The postholder acts as the day-of-surgery documentation coordinator, responsible for ensuring the entire surgical pathway document is fully completed, signed, and legally compliant before it is submitted for scanning and electronic filing.
  • Coordinate completion of all sections of the surgical pathway document across all clinical contributors: surgeon, anaesthetist, ODP, recovery nurse, and assisting clinician.
  • Chase and follow up incomplete sections in real time throughout the surgical day.
  • Ensure every box is filled, ticked, signed, and dated; sections marked 'not applicable' must be clearly documented (not left blank).
  • Verify the WHO Checklist is completed with appropriate Time Out documentation and signatures.
  • Ensure the Surgical Count Board is completed and attached to the pathway.
  • Ensure the Anaesthetic Drugs Audit is completed by the ODP or Anaesthetist and included with the pathway.
  • Submit the completed surgical pathway document to the Registered Manager at the end of each surgical session for scanning and electronic filing.
• Post-Operative Care and Discharge
  • Oversee recovery room care, ensuring observations are recorded, documented accurately, and that recovery nursing pages are completed in full.
  • Liaise with the responsible consultant regarding post-operative instructions and ensure post-operative prescriptions are prepared before the procedure concludes.
  • Support safe discharge planning, including confirmation of escort arrangements for sedation or GA patients; escalate to the Registered Manager if safe discharge cannot be confirmed.
  • Ensure consultant post-operative documentation is completed and signed before the pathway is released.
• Controlled Drugs and Prescribing
  • Manage theatre keys in accordance with clinic policy, ensuring keys are signed out and returned correctly on every occasion.
  • Maintain Controlled Drug (CD) documentation to the highest standard: signatures, balance reconciliation, and timing entries must be accurate and contemporaneous.
  • Promptly report any CD register discrepancies to the Registered Manager.
  • Prompt the assisting doctor or responsible consultant to prepare take-home prescriptions before the procedure begins, in line with the peri-operative documentation SOP.
  • Support the quarterly Prescription Audit by facilitating access to relevant prescribing records and contributing to audit completion using the current template.
• Specimen, Sample, and Laboratory Handling
  • Prepare and label histopathology samples correctly following each procedure: specimen pot labelled with patient full name, date of birth, and date of procedure; placed in transparent bag and then LD Path transport bag with completed request form.
  • Retain yellow copy of histopathology request form for clinic records and coordinate courier collection via reception.
  • Ensure blood samples are correctly labelled, placed in the appropriate urgency-colour transport bag, and submitted with a completed blood request form.
  • Communicate with reception to arrange timely laboratory collections to avoid delays in turnaround.
• Instruments and Sterilisation
  • Decontaminate and prepare used surgical instruments for Steris collection, ensuring correct handling, packaging, and labelling in accordance with clinic protocols.
  • Log sterilisation requests via the SynergyTrak portal using correct tray name, TN number, and PC number from instrument stickers.
  • Observe the 48-hour collection-to-return rule as standard: instruments sent must be scheduled for return a minimum of 48 hours later to ensure adequate instrument availability.
  • Conduct thorough checks on all instrument sets returned from Steris, verifying packaging integrity, sterilisation indicators, and set completeness.
  • Report damaged, missing, or incorrectly processed instruments to the Registered Manager and to Steris without delay.
• CQC Compliance and Governance
  • Work in full compliance with CQC Fundamental Standards and the clinic's registered activities at all times.
  • Support ongoing CQC inspection readiness, both announced and unannounced, through consistent documentation practice, audit participation, and adherence to all SOPs.
  • Contribute to risk assessments, clinical audits (including the quarterly Prescription Audit), and quality improvement initiatives.
  • Apply the Duty of Candour, reporting all incidents, near misses, and adverse events through the appropriate governance channels.
  • Maintain accurate, legible, and contemporaneous clinical records across all aspects of the role.
  • Champion a culture of openness, safety, and continuous improvement in line with CQC's five key domains: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led.

Essential Experience Requirements

• Registered Nurse (RN) with current, unrestricted NMC registration.
• Recognised post-registration theatre / perioperative qualification or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Proven experience across scrub, circulating, and recovery roles.
• Strong working knowledge of surgical instruments, aseptic technique, and perioperative protocols.
• Experience managing surgical pathway documentation across a full day-of-surgery cycle.
• Competence in pre-operative patient assessment and medical history review.
• Knowledge of Controlled Drugs legislation and documentation requirements.
• Understanding of CQC Fundamental Standards and regulated healthcare environments.
• Sound understanding of clinical waste management (HTM 07-01, colour-coded segregation, sharps regulations).
• Ability to work with high autonomy while maintaining clear escalation awareness.
• Excellent communication skills — able to liaise professionally with surgeons, anaesthetists, ODPs, and administrative staff.
• Patient-centred with an empathetic, professional, and reassuring manner.
• Exceptionally detail-oriented, treats documentation as a patient safety and legal matter.

Desirable Experience Requirements

• Experience in private / independent healthcare.
• Familiarity with aesthetic, facial, or reconstructive surgical procedures.
• Experience covering extended clinical responsibilities in the absence of an on-site medical officer.
• ILS or ALS certification.
• Experience across multiple surgical specialties (e.g. plastics, ENT, gynaecology, orthopaedics).
• Familiarity with SynergyTrak / Steris sterilisation processes.
• Experience with LD Path or equivalent histopathology laboratory systems.