Early Diagnosis Cancer Navigator in Primary Care

Job description

Job responsibilities

PRIMARY DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• To assist Burnley West Primary Care Network (PCN) in delivering improvements to the services we provide our patients in relation to the following aspects of patient care - Participation in national cancer screening programmes.
• Ensuring robust and supportive referral practices are in place for patients suspected of having cancer; including use of guidelines, professional development, and safety netting of those referred.
• In support of collaborative working the post holder will form productive and supportive relationships with practice staff who have the skills, knowledge and remit to contribute to this work. e.g., GP practice non clinical cancer champions, social prescribers, pharmacists, secretaries etc.
• The post holder will assist the PCN constituent practices to evaluate their screening uptake and engage hard to reach populations and to reduce health inequalities. This will include working alongside practices to enhance processes to track and follow-up screening non-responders.
• Take forward proactive monitoring and tracking of patients suspected or confirmed of having a cancer diagnosis ensuring that their journey is processed in a timely and efficient manner, in line with Cancer Waiting Time Targets.
• Provide advice and support to practices on cancer audit or referral review of cancer diagnoses. To work with practices to collate the learning from case reviews to identify any trends or learning.

• To provide, receive and analyse information of a clinical and statistical nature, to support the development of key workstreams to improve screening coverage and facilitate timely cancer diagnosis.

• To interpret medical records to maintain a cancer data base that enables the accurate tracking of patient care and progression through the cancer pathway for review by practices and the PCN.

• To ensure patients continue to be monitored and supported post treatment completion, supporting the patient and their family for post treatment rehabilitation where necessary.

  Ensuring Cancer Care reviews are performed by the relevant clinicians at 3 months and 12 months intervals according to the Quality & Outcomes Framework.

• Be responsible for identifying and resolving delays in the patient pathway, looking at diagnostic test dates and outpatient appointments. Where this is not possible, ways forward are to be discussed with the Practice or PCN

• Develop with core staff across the PCN consistent safety netting approaches or systems to monitoring patients who have been referred urgently with suspected cancer or for further investigations to exclude the possibility of cancer.
• Provide the PCN with support to host peer-to-peer learning events that look at data and trends in diagnosis and screening across a Network. Including appropriate contributors from other organisations
• Source appropriate resources, training, system examples from appropriate organization such as the Cancer Alliance, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, and local authority partners.
• Be a point of contact for PCN member Practices to develop and implement their cancer screening improvement action plans.
• Create a Library of PCN data packs and other resources to support the delivery of information to patients in a wide variety of formats to meet the needs of all patient groups, including those with Learning Disabilities, and people for whom English is not a first language.
• Review practice coding for report building and templates to ensure consistency across the PCN and accuracy of data. Identify coding anomalies and liaise with Ardens (template and reports used by all member practices).
• Provide administrative support for project evaluation and feedback.

Person Specification

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• SKILLS
• Excellent communication skills. Communication is required with a wide variety of healthcare professionals, both face to face, by video consulting, via e-mail and telephone e.g. GPs, Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses, Consultants, Nurse Specialist, Managers, and attached personnel.
• The post holder must be able to communicate effectively with patients including diverse patient groups.
• The post holder must be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with various healthcare professionals within the PCN, wider Multi- Disciplinary Team members, hospital organisations and colleagues in East Lancashire Cancer Alliance.
• The post holder may be required to attend practice/ PCN meetings to discuss issues impacting on patient care.
• The post holder is required to use tact and diplomacy on a daily basis.
• The post holder must ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times.
• Able to gain a detailed knowledge of the cancer screening programmes, particularly in the areas of bowel, breast, and cervical cancer. Empathetically discuss screening processes with patients and answer questions and concerns.
• IT literate with data analysis skills with knowledge and experience of using a range of data bases or patient information systems
• Able to build network links with external organisations
• Previous admin and clerical experience within the NHS or similar field
• Knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology.
• Knowledge of primary care EMIS system would be preferred but is not essential.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Ability to input information accurately and in a timely manner and to work to tight deadlines.
• Develop with practices systems to ensure high quality patient referrals are completed (i.e. the effective review of referrals to ensure with all pre-work such as blood tests or scans are actioned in advance as required).
• Adaptable and flexible to differing operational frameworks of individual practice and patient needs.

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

Burnley Group Practice

Address

Burnley Business Centre

Burnley

BB12 6HH

Employer's website

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