Community Cancer Awareness Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

Overarching Responsibilities

Deliver a range of community facing cancer awareness campaigns & interventions

Work across South Tyneside & Sunderland utilising a shared approach and methodology across both areas (flexing to population needs if and when they differ)

Ensure work aligns to the South Tyneside & Sunderland Joint Locality Cancer Plan

Align your approaches to, and work closely with key partners in, the ongoing Health Inequalities work that is happening across South Tyneside & Sunderland

Use evidence-based approaches to reach target communities; not a one-size-fits-all approach

Utilise the support of the Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) and contribute to the peer support networks they facilitate

Be directed in your approach by the Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) workplan in order to contribute to their objectives around early diagnosis of cancer

Work closely with the Primary Care Network cancer engagement workers in South Tyneside & Sunderland who will also supervise your work

Continually evaluate your approach, learn from what is working well (and not) and be adaptable and flexible in your approach

Ensure that your resource is utilised according to the size of the populations served; South Tyneside 35%, Sunderland 65%.

Work with your peers to ensure that planed leave and any long-term absence can be covered where possible

Keeping up to date with current health promotion trendsand local and national campaigns

Build relationships with local community organisations, Primary Care and other organisations to work in collaboration supporting people to access the right services and support at the right time

Produce monthly reports detailing feedback, activity, and reach, including case studies

Targeted / Specific Responsibilities

Target interventions toward the most deprived communities and other communities and geographies of health inequality including ethnically diverse communities, those in digital poverty, with a learning disability or autism, and areas with lower health literacy

Target interventions toward younger people with the dual objective of increasing their own awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer and encouraging them to present for cancer screening but also look to them to be vectors of communication to their older family members/ workmates or wider community

Support the delivery of the Targeted Lung Health Check (TLHC) programme across South Tyneside & Sunderland, maximising uptake amongst harder to reach groups, patients from our most deprived communities and supporting current smokers to stop smoking

Support specific local campaigns identified by NCA, this will include work on Lung and Head and Neck cancer awareness

Support continued uptake of Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT), reinforcing the importance of patients completing the FIT test if allocated one in Primary Care

Support and promote uptake of the three cancer screening programmes and contribute to the following new initiatives in screening where appropriate to the populations targeted:

Support the increase in uptake of breast screening in ethnically diverse populations (intersectionality with deprivation) including;

o Developing an interim breast self-checking resource for South Asian women using behavioural science principles

o work with breast screening providers to influence them to adapt their offer to these women to be more culturally aware.

o Support those new to bowel screening (men under 60) to be more willing to take up the offer of screening (specifically targeting men in quartiles 4/5) using behavioural science principles

o Support the increase in update of cervical screening in younger women, ethnically diverse populations and in deprived communities

Use of IT, Data and Tools

Use systems available to you including SHAPE Atlas, Tableau, Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) data packs and Primary Care systems to analyse data that will inform the priority communities and geographies into which you will target your interventions.

Utilise the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) tool to collect pre- and post- intervention feedback and data to support the overall evaluation of the impact of your role.

Use clinical systems to record your interactions with patients (where possible and appropriate) to support the overall evaluation of the impact of your role.

Employer Specific Responsibilities

Undertake any training identified as relevant to your role

To work according to your employer's policies and procedures

Be highly motivated and able to work autonomously

Ability to travel, as the role will involve working across the geography

1. Health and Safety/Risk Management

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the Health & Safety Policy, to include:

The post-holder must always comply with Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents.

The post-holder will comply with the Data Protection Act (2018) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990).

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to company guidelines.
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
• Reporting potential risks identified.

3. Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with company procedures and policies, and current legislation.
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.

4. Confidentiality

• While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately;
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

The post-holder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

5. Communication and Working Relationships

Establish and maintain effective communication pathways with all staff and visiting clinical team members such as district nurses, modern matrons, health visitors etc.

This Job Description provides a guide to the duties and responsibilities of the post and is not an exhaustive list. The post holder may be asked to undertake any other relevant duties appropriate to the post. The Job Description may be amended over time, in consultation with the post holder to meet the needs of the service.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Working to a timetable that may change day-to-day.
• Working in a culture of continual improvement.
• Experience of working in a community setting.
• Experience of working with in a setting which offers opportunities around behaviour change.

Desirable

• Working in areas of deprivation.
• Knowledge of community engagement.
• Experience of group work.
• Experience of working across various settings.
• Volunteer experience related to cancer work within a community setting.
• Knowledge of cancer support organisations.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

Essential

• A good level of IT skills including Microsoft Office.
• Some evenings and occasional weekend work required.
• Work flexibly, moving from one type of task to another within the same working day.
• Work to deadlines, prioritising work appropriately.
• Able to provide advice and guidance sensitively.
• Ability to engage service users and other agencies through social media and other online channels or a willingness to learn and develop these skills.
• Excellent presentation skills to deliver workshops / presentations and training to groups.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing.
• Ability to communicate with people at all levels.

Desirable

• Good networking skills.
• Ability to prepare creative material.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Passionate about supporting people to be able to take more control of their health.
• Non-judgmental.
• Possess strong interpersonal skills (especially active listening).
• Positive about working as part of a team and in cooperation with colleagues in other teams.
• Solution focused.
• Ability to use own initiative.
• Enthusiastic.
• Committed to equal opportunities.

Desirable

• Understands the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.
• Full driving license /own car.

Qualifications

Essential

• English and Maths at GCSE (or equivalent) at the grade C or above.

Desirable

• Training / Community Engagement / Health / Behaviour Change

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

South Tyneside Health Collaboration

Address

Stanhope Parade Health Centre

Gordon Street

South Shields

NE33 4JP

Employer's website

https://healthcollaboration.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)