Welcome to Hunter Gatherer Primary Care – specialist practice nurse recruitment across the UK.
We place practice nurses and general practice nurses (GPNs) into GP surgeries and PCNs on both a locum and permanent basis. Whether you’re a practice looking for reliable nursing cover or an experienced nurse ready for your next primary care role, we offer a fast, well-matched and genuinely supportive service.
What is a Practice Nurse?
A Practice Nurse (also known as a General Practice Nurse or GPN) is an NMC-registered nurse working within a GP surgery or Primary Care Network. Unlike hospital-based nursing, practice nursing is largely autonomous – nurses run their own clinics, manage their own patient lists and take clinical responsibility for a wide range of preventive and chronic disease care.
Practice nurses are the backbone of the GP surgery clinical team. They deliver the vast majority of the day-to-day clinical activity that allows a practice to hit its QOF and IIF targets, manage long-term conditions and maintain access for patients. Without a well-staffed practice nursing team, a GP surgery simply cannot function at capacity.
Why Practices Choose Hunter Gatherer for Practice Nurse Recruitment:
- Primary care is what we do We’re not a generalist nursing agency. Primary care is our specialism and our consultants understand what surgeries actually need from a practice nurse – whether that’s immunisation competency, smear-taking qualification, chronic disease management experience, or prescribing capability.
- NMC-verified and compliance-checked Every nurse we place is verified for NMC registration, DBS, indemnity, clinical references and relevant competency sign-offs before placement.
- Locum and permanent placements Need urgent cover from next week or looking to grow your permanent nursing team? We support both, with the same rigour on compliance and candidate matching.
- Fast and responsive Practice nursing gaps don’t wait. When you contact us, we respond quickly and aim to have vetted options in front of you the same day where possible.
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What Practice Nurses Do:
Practice nurses in GP surgeries and PCNs deliver a wide and varied clinical workload, including:
- Chronic Disease Management – diabetes, hypertension, COPD, asthma, atrial fibrillation, heart disease, hypothyroidism reviews and structured annual reviews
- Vaccinations & Immunisations – childhood immunisations, flu, COVID, travel vaccines, shingles, pneumococcal, HPV, RSV
- Cervical Cytology / Smear Tests – running cervical screening clinics independently
- Women’s Health – contraception, LARC fitting and removal, HRT reviews, postnatal checks
- Wound Care & Minor Injuries – dressings, suture removal, wound assessment, minor injury management
- NHS Health Checks – running the full NHS Health Check programme
- Health Promotion & Education – smoking cessation, weight management, lifestyle advice
- QOF and IIF Delivery – supporting the practice to hit clinical quality targets
- Treatment Room Procedures – INR testing, spirometry, ECGs, ear syringing, minor procedures
- Prescribing – for nurses holding the V300 independent prescribing qualification
Practice Nurse Specialisations We Cover:
Our practice nurse network covers a range of clinical skills and areas of special interest, including:
- Diabetes – structured diabetes reviews, insulin initiation support, HbA1c monitoring, foot checks
- Respiratory – asthma and COPD reviews, inhaler technique, spirometry, peak flow
- Cardiovascular & Hypertension – blood pressure clinics, medication titration, CVD risk assessment
- Women’s Health – smears, contraception, LARC, HRT, menopause
- Travel Health – pre-travel risk assessment, travel vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis
- Minor Surgery / Procedures – cryotherapy, excisions, wound management
- Paediatrics – childhood immunisation and development checks
- Mental Health Awareness – supporting patients with long-term mental health conditions within chronic disease clinics
- Prescribing – V300 independent prescribers able to run fully autonomous consultations
Qualifications We Look For:
Every practice nurse we place holds:
- Active NMC registration with no restrictions
- Relevant post-qualification experience in a primary care or community nursing setting
- Competency sign-offs appropriate to the role – smear-taking, immunisation, chronic disease management, spirometry as required
- Valid DBS and up-to-date mandatory training
- V300 independent prescribing qualification (required for prescribing roles; increasingly expected for senior practice nurse positions)
Many practice nurses hold additional qualifications in specific clinical areas – diabetes, asthma, women’s health, travel health – and we confirm these during registration to ensure the right match for each role.
A Note on Practice Nurse Pay:
Unlike NHS hospital nurses, practice nurses are not automatically employed on Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts. GP surgeries are independent businesses, and pay rates are set by each practice individually. This means practice nurse salaries can vary significantly between surgeries — even within the same area.
For locum work, rates are more transparent and generally higher than permanent equivalents, reflecting the flexibility and short-notice nature of the work. Hunter Gatherer Primary Care is transparent about rates for every role and advocates on behalf of nurses to ensure they are paid appropriately for their experience and qualifications.
Locum Practice Nurse Opportunities:
Locum practice nursing offers the chance to work flexibly across different surgeries and PCNs, build experience across a range of clinical areas and supplement income alongside a permanent role. Whether you want ad hoc shifts around other commitments or longer block bookings, we’ll find opportunities that match your skills and schedule.
We have active practice nurse requirements across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond
Practice Nurse Pay Rates (2025/26):
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Locum Practice Nurses£28 – £55 per hour. Rates vary by experience, skill set, location and urgency. Prescribing nurses, those with specialist chronic disease qualifications, and nurses with smear-taking competency typically command higher rates. London and South East surgeries generally sit above the national average.
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Salaried Practice NursesSalaried practice nurse pay is set by individual GP practices and is not bound by AfC scales. In practice, Band 5 equivalent practice nurses typically earn £28,000–£36,000; Band 6 equivalent nurses with specialist skills £35,000–£46,000. Prescribing and senior practice nurses can earn £45,000–£55,000+ depending on the practice and caseload.
Career Progression for Practice Nurses:
Practice nursing offers a genuine specialist career pathway within primary care:
- Newly qualified / Band 5 equivalent – developing core primary care clinical skills alongside an experienced nursing team
- Experienced GPN / Band 6 equivalent – running autonomous chronic disease clinics, cervical screening, immunisations, treatment room
- Lead Practice Nurse / Senior GPN – clinical leadership within the practice nursing team, clinical governance, staff supervision
- Prescribing Practice Nurse – V300 qualification enables fully autonomous consultations and significantly expands clinical scope
- Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) – for nurses who undertake Master’s-level training to diagnose, treat and prescribe independently
Many practice nurses find that primary care offers far greater clinical autonomy than hospital nursing – and that the variety of work across chronic disease, prevention, minor illness and procedures keeps the role genuinely interesting over a long career.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Do locum practice nurses need smear-taking (cervical cytology) qualification? For many GP surgery locum roles, cervical screening competency is expected – especially for nurses covering a full treatment room or women’s health clinic. We confirm whether a candidate holds this during registration and will always be upfront about what each role requires.
- Do you place newly qualified nurses in practice nursing roles? Practice nursing typically requires some post-registration experience, as the role is largely autonomous from day one. Most GP surgeries expect a minimum of one to two years post-qualification experience. We can advise on what specific practices are looking for.
- Can you provide locum practice nurse cover at short notice? Yes. Once a nurse is registered and compliant with us, we can respond quickly to urgent cover requests. Contact us directly for same-day or short-notice requirements.
- Do you place prescribing nurses specifically? Yes. V300 independent prescribers are in strong demand in primary care, and we have a dedicated network of prescribing practice nurses. If this is a specific requirement, mention it when you get in touch.
- What areas do you cover? We place practice nurses across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff and beyond.
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