Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a confident,
enthusiastic, individual to work within the Cancer Services Department to cover
maternity leave. The hours will be 18.75 worked across three days a week. Your
primary responsibilities will be to act as patient advocate to overcome
barriers to timely access to any part of the patients cancer journey,
minimising any delays to diagnostics and treatment. You will directly
communicate with patients and their families to organise appointments, advise on
any concerns or queries and signpost the patient to relevant support. The role
plays a vital part in streamlining the patient journey and contributes to the
improvement of both quality and experience. You will also have line management
responsibilities for one or more members of the Cancer Pathways team.
Ideally the post holder will be based at Darlington Memorial
Hospital but may be required to be based in the office at University Hospital
of North Durham on a regular basis. Our team is currently working under
Agile working agreements, working a mix of on-site and remotely from their home
base and once fully trained the post holder will also adopt this working
pattern.
End Date : 29/04/2025
Main duties of the job
The post holder will work collaboratively across
primary and secondary care and third sector organisations with responsibility
to provide an effective, caring and compassionate service to patients to
optimise their access to cancer services, through close working with
multidisciplinary teams in primary and secondary care. They will be point of
access to receive and act upon notification of any new, suspicious or recurrent
cancers identified at the diagnostic stage.
They will liaise with patients and their relatives and ensure
appropriate and timely appointments are secured and any additional tests are
organised prior to their imaging via their GP or within the Trust. They will ensure close collaboration with
Radiology to ensure imaging is booked, reports are available and staging is
complete. The post holder will actively participate in Cancer Waiting Times
validation and ensure patient tracking procedures are followed and kept up to
date within the department. They will be part of a team who have delegated
supervisory responsibility for the Cancer Services team which will include
delivery of 1-1s, appraisals and annual leave management so cover may be
required for this.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks
We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents
Over reliance on
AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of
success
For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.
From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two years
of experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to consider
sponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria and
have a current visa expiring within 3 months)
Job description
Job responsibilities
Our
team ensures that patients are tracked through their pathway, we monitor and
escalate with core services such as Radiology, Pathology, Chemotherapy, Booking
and Waiting List staff so excellent interpersonal and communication skills will
be vital.
The Cancer Pathway
Navigator will work across Durham and Darlington with Radiology, Endoscopy,
Cancer Pathway Coordinators and members of multi-disciplinary teams in primary
and secondary care and third sector organisations, including working closely
with the Cancer Services Improvement Manager. It will be an essential component
of the job to form close working relationships with the medical, nursing and
allied health professionals from all of the Trust cancer multidisciplinary
teams across sites and within Primary Care.
The Cancer Pathway
Navigator will provide a point of contact to GPs and patients/carers advising
and updating on patient pathway status with the specific aim of minimising any
delays throughout each patient journey.
Within the Trust, they are also point of access to receive notification
of new, suspicious or recurrent cancers which are identified following
diagnostics and an essential element of the role is to ensure the Cancer
Pathway Coordinators and the relevant MDT are alerted and relevant appointments
are secured.
A key aspect of the role is
to liaise with the patient or their carer to provide detail of next
appointments and arrange any necessary tests prior to imaging. They will act as patient advocate to enable
timely access to cancer services, and will also follow up with the patient
should they fail to attend. In addition
they will signpost patients to relevant support within primary and secondary
care.
The
Cancer Pathway Navigator will also have delegated line management
responsibility for the Cancer Pathway Coordinators, delivering 1-1s,
Appraisals and management of annual leave.
They will work closely with them to ensure the Cancer Wait Times targets
are maintained and tracking procedures are followed and delays are
escalated. They will have delegated
responsibility for Cancer Wait Time validation in readiness for monthly
deadlines and uploads.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Our
team ensures that patients are tracked through their pathway, we monitor and
escalate with core services such as Radiology, Pathology, Chemotherapy, Booking
and Waiting List staff so excellent interpersonal and communication skills will
be vital.
The Cancer Pathway
Navigator will work across Durham and Darlington with Radiology, Endoscopy,
Cancer Pathway Coordinators and members of multi-disciplinary teams in primary
and secondary care and third sector organisations, including working closely
with the Cancer Services Improvement Manager. It will be an essential component
of the job to form close working relationships with the medical, nursing and
allied health professionals from all of the Trust cancer multidisciplinary
teams across sites and within Primary Care.
The Cancer Pathway
Navigator will provide a point of contact to GPs and patients/carers advising
and updating on patient pathway status with the specific aim of minimising any
delays throughout each patient journey.
Within the Trust, they are also point of access to receive notification
of new, suspicious or recurrent cancers which are identified following
diagnostics and an essential element of the role is to ensure the Cancer
Pathway Coordinators and the relevant MDT are alerted and relevant appointments
are secured.
A key aspect of the role is
to liaise with the patient or their carer to provide detail of next
appointments and arrange any necessary tests prior to imaging. They will act as patient advocate to enable
timely access to cancer services, and will also follow up with the patient
should they fail to attend. In addition
they will signpost patients to relevant support within primary and secondary
care.
The
Cancer Pathway Navigator will also have delegated line management
responsibility for the Cancer Pathway Coordinators, delivering 1-1s,
Appraisals and management of annual leave.
They will work closely with them to ensure the Cancer Wait Times targets
are maintained and tracking procedures are followed and delays are
escalated. They will have delegated
responsibility for Cancer Wait Time validation in readiness for monthly
deadlines and uploads.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma level qualification / foundation degree or equivalent experience
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
Special Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Ability to communicate and influence a broad range of staff at all levels in the organisation with particular regard to cancer waiting times and prevention of breaches.
- High level of communication skills when communicating with patients/relatives/carers
- Ability to take day to day responsibility for their own area of work, working autonomously for the majority of the time
- Ability to work effectively as a member of a team
- Knowledge of legislation surrounding patient and staff confidentiality and the sharing of information across organisations
- IT skills, e.g. Excel manipulate and analyse data using excel, Word, produce documents to a professional standard, Outlook, diary and email
- Ability to solve problems and take appropriate action
- Ability to communicate and work with a wide range of professional and administrative staff
- Ability to identify trends in patient pathways that require improvement
- Ability to develop and implement policy and procedure guidance
- Understanding of service improvement and the application of this
- Knowledge of hospital based information systems
- Knowledge of service improvement methodology including simple tools, techniques and measurement for improvement
- Knowledge of cancer patients pathways
- Knowledge of Cancer Waiting times targets
- Demonstrate awareness of policies and process relating to the improvement of services and outcomes.
Desirable
- Ability to communicate and influence a broad range of staff at all levels in the organisation with particular regard to cancer waiting times and prevention of breaches.
- High level of communication skills when communicating with patients/relatives/carers
- Ability to take day to day responsibility for their own area of work, working autonomously for the majority of the time
- Ability to work effectively as a member of a team
- Knowledge of legislation surrounding patient and staff confidentiality and the sharing of information across organisations
- IT skills, e.g. Excel manipulate and analyse data using excel, Word, produce documents to a professional standard, Outlook, diary and email
- Ability to solve problems and take appropriate action
- Ability to communicate and work with a wide range of professional and administrative staff
- Ability to identify trends in patient pathways that require improvement
- Ability to develop and implement policy and procedure guidance
- Understanding of service improvement and the application of this
- Knowledge of hospital based information systems
- Knowledge of service improvement methodology including simple tools, techniques and measurement for improvement
- Knowledge of cancer patients pathways
- Knowledge of Cancer Waiting times targets
- Demonstrate awareness of policies and process relating to the improvement of services and outcomes.
Experience
Essential
- Previous administrative experience within the NHS
- Previous experience of data collection, validation and reporting
- Experience of supervising/managing staff
- Experience of training / coaching
Desirable
- Previous experience of working in the NHS in a role relating to cancer patient pathway
Special Requirements
Essential
- Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post
- Ability to input data for significant periods of time using a VDU
- Ability to concentrate on tasks whilst managing frequent interruptions and making appropriate adjustments to priorities
- Ability to cope with exposure to details regarding patients that may be distressing
- Professional appearance and demeanour
- Positive attitude towards change
- Flexible and adaptable
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma level qualification / foundation degree or equivalent experience
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
Special Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Ability to communicate and influence a broad range of staff at all levels in the organisation with particular regard to cancer waiting times and prevention of breaches.
- High level of communication skills when communicating with patients/relatives/carers
- Ability to take day to day responsibility for their own area of work, working autonomously for the majority of the time
- Ability to work effectively as a member of a team
- Knowledge of legislation surrounding patient and staff confidentiality and the sharing of information across organisations
- IT skills, e.g. Excel manipulate and analyse data using excel, Word, produce documents to a professional standard, Outlook, diary and email
- Ability to solve problems and take appropriate action
- Ability to communicate and work with a wide range of professional and administrative staff
- Ability to identify trends in patient pathways that require improvement
- Ability to develop and implement policy and procedure guidance
- Understanding of service improvement and the application of this
- Knowledge of hospital based information systems
- Knowledge of service improvement methodology including simple tools, techniques and measurement for improvement
- Knowledge of cancer patients pathways
- Knowledge of Cancer Waiting times targets
- Demonstrate awareness of policies and process relating to the improvement of services and outcomes.
Desirable
- Ability to communicate and influence a broad range of staff at all levels in the organisation with particular regard to cancer waiting times and prevention of breaches.
- High level of communication skills when communicating with patients/relatives/carers
- Ability to take day to day responsibility for their own area of work, working autonomously for the majority of the time
- Ability to work effectively as a member of a team
- Knowledge of legislation surrounding patient and staff confidentiality and the sharing of information across organisations
- IT skills, e.g. Excel manipulate and analyse data using excel, Word, produce documents to a professional standard, Outlook, diary and email
- Ability to solve problems and take appropriate action
- Ability to communicate and work with a wide range of professional and administrative staff
- Ability to identify trends in patient pathways that require improvement
- Ability to develop and implement policy and procedure guidance
- Understanding of service improvement and the application of this
- Knowledge of hospital based information systems
- Knowledge of service improvement methodology including simple tools, techniques and measurement for improvement
- Knowledge of cancer patients pathways
- Knowledge of Cancer Waiting times targets
- Demonstrate awareness of policies and process relating to the improvement of services and outcomes.
Experience
Essential
- Previous administrative experience within the NHS
- Previous experience of data collection, validation and reporting
- Experience of supervising/managing staff
- Experience of training / coaching
Desirable
- Previous experience of working in the NHS in a role relating to cancer patient pathway
Special Requirements
Essential
- Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post
- Ability to input data for significant periods of time using a VDU
- Ability to concentrate on tasks whilst managing frequent interruptions and making appropriate adjustments to priorities
- Ability to cope with exposure to details regarding patients that may be distressing
- Professional appearance and demeanour
- Positive attitude towards change
- Flexible and adaptable
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
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust
Hollyhurst Road
Darlington
County Durham
DL3 6HX
Employer's website
https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
