Ambulatory Oncology Care Unit (AOCU) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

Job summary

• An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced oncology nurse to join our Ambulatory Oncology Care Unit (AOCU) team as a CNS part time B7.
• In September 2014, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support entered into a strategic partnership to improve cancer patient experience for those people receiving care at St George's. Part of this project involved the establishment of the AOCU (June 2016) which is now a permanent 7 day service of the Trust.
• The AOCU aims to provide people affected by cancer (PABC) with an excellent experience of care.
• AOCU is a patient focused service where some conditions may be treated without the need for an overnight stay in hospital. Many patients seen within this setting would probably receive the same treatment as an inpatient.

Main duties of the job

• The AOCU CNS post is part of the Acute Oncology Service (AOS) which also provides an advisory service for the Trust, GPs, for oncology patients and their families. Specifically AOS is directed at patients presenting with emergency or urgent complications of cancer and cancer treatment(s).
• We are looking for an experienced nurse with a passion to provide excellent care for our oncology patients and the vision to develop and enhance the service.
• The post holder will support patients phoning the AOS line with complications of cancer and/or its treatment(s), and the assessment unit where the post holder will be based.
• The post holder will be a key worker in providing a link between patients and health care professionals across all health care settings to improve the patient pathway.
• The AOCU is a form of enhanced triage, assessment and patient management led by the AOCU ANP and supported by other CNSs as well as AOCU Coordinator.
• The unit expanded into a 7 day a week service that would allow the unit to see more emergency patients and to avoid patients being admitted from A&E.

About us

St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey.Our sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).

After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.