Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time, permanent position in the Clinical Support Team at the Christie Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) Centre in Withington Manchester.
The role is that of Clinical Support Worker (CSW) and involves a varied range of roles and daily duties incorporating both clerical and clinical skills. The role of the CSW role is supporting the patient and the service throughout their course of the patient's treatment as they attend for PBT. Working with patients on a daily basis CSW will be responsible for a range of supportive duties working alongside the radiographers in treatment and imaging, as well as clerical and administrative work. It is preferable for candidates to have some experience of working in a healthcare setting but not essential as training will be provided for this highly specialised role
Available posts
- Permanent 37.5hours over 5 days
- Permanent 22.5hours over 3 days
- 37.5 hours over 5 days for a 6-8 month fixed term
Working shifts to cover the needs of the service. Example shifts include 7am-3pm and 11am-7pm. These may vary depending on work area.
Main duties of the job
The CSW assists the clinical teams in supporting patients whilst they are receiving treatment. This includes assisting radiographers in the production, management and maintenance of radiotherapy immobilisation devices, liaising with patients on a daily basis, supporting patients by building a rapport, feeding back important information to the clinical team. Some clinical duties will be required such as changing dressings, capturing and recording of patient clinical observations. This role also includes a range of administrative duties using Trust systems to capture and record information tracking and maintain patient records. Good IT skills in addition to the willingness and commitment to learn multiple Trust IT systems are necessary.
Applicants should possess excellent communication skills as they will be supporting patients and carers of all ages, including a large number of paediatric patients and families travelling from all over the UK. Applicants should have a strong team work ethic and be willing to interact with a range of professions.
As a novel service flexibility is essential to meet the needs of an evolving workload. Therefore a CSW will need to have a flexible attitude to work, with the ability to adapt when the service requires. Current clinical hours of the service are covered by a range of shift patterns as described in the job description and are distributed evenly amongst the team.
About us
The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country. We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Job description
Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Communication Skills
- Provides support to the department by ensuring accurate recording of treatment and planning data, organising and scheduling patient appointments, greeting and escorting patients and assisting patients with appointment queries.
- To assist and support radiotherapy staff to support the patients physical, clinical and emotional needs whilst attending. This includes care of post-operative patients, changing dressings, tracheostomy support, and working with patients that have communication difficulties due to their condition.
- Provides and receives routine information using tact, empathetic and reassurance skills towards patients and carers.
- Liaises between all Christie radiotherapy centers, host sites and community where appropriate
Knowledge, training and Experience
- Use knowledge of integrated clinical information system for case note tracking and collating of data for referrals.
- Data input and radiotherapy completion tasks
- Where applicable, provides retrieval of medical documents for clinical information including those from other Trusts
- Complies with policies, procedures, rules, regulations and departmental protocols.
- Production of suitable immobilisation equipment
- Provide clinical support for radiotherapy anaesthetic and recovery areas.
- Once training and competencies have been completed, working under the direction of the PBT radiographers to undertake routine and specifically identified tasks in order to support the running and organisation of clinical services in the PBT service once training and competencies have been completed.
Personal Skills
- Liaises with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that adequate information and support is available to patients
- Produces departmental statistics using appropriate systems, ensuring submission within given deadlines.
- Uses analytical skills to make judgments on patient situations such as deciding when issues need to be escalated and support provided.
- Cover the reception desk as needed, answering internal or external telephone calls.
- Maintain accurate patient details in all the Christie patient systems, following the correct procedures for recording of information to ensure information is up to date for future reference and complies with the data protection act.
Planning and Organisation
- Triage and management of booking forms, booking and scheduling of radiotherapy planning and treatment across all sites
- Books patient transport where applicable and deals with transport queries
- Booking and scheduling of physiotherapy and complimentary therapy and support services on site
- Using patient management system, ensure all radiotherapy appointments are recorded on Medway.
- Where appropriate use the Medway system to locate case notes for patients attending for Radiotherapy clinics, out-patient clinics or treatment
Responsibilities
- Is responsible for stock control in areas of work.
- Is responsible for the production and processing of all relevant completion letters following a patients treatment.
- Creation of Follow up letters on patients treatment completion.
- Pre-treatment imaging support
- Prepares patients for diagnostic procedures.
- Provide continuity of support during the absence of other clinical support workers, and booking team members
- Clinical and clerical support for all clinics in the Christie network, including AHP services.
- Organisation and provision of relevant medical equipment, used in applicable clinics, including sterilisation.
Patient Care
Undertakes a range of different delegated duties across the Radiotherapy Department as allocated by the relevant line manager. Will record patient information and data and contribute to the implementation of patients clinical care packages.
Freedom to Act
Will be required to utilise own initiative but work within defined SOPS, Procedures and Policies. When there is doubt or the post holder is unsure then there will be more senior members of staff available to raise issues with and receive guidance from.
Effort
- Patient transfer
- Manual handling tasks as required
Working conditions
- Working hours must be flexible to the needs of the service, this may include working weekends.
- May be expected to participate in all shift patterns
Teaching/Training
- Attends all relevant mandatory training courses
- Maintains own personal development
- Participate in relevant training, meetings and work at The Christie Withington site and other satellites within the network as required.
- Assists in the training and/or orientation of clinical support worker and any other students.
- Complete Christie Care Certificate as mandated by the Trust.
- Required to demonstrate tasks and duties to new and less experienced members of the team.
This is not an exhaustive list and additional duties may be required as requested by the lead radiographer/ principal radiographer.
Job description
Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Communication Skills
- Provides support to the department by ensuring accurate recording of treatment and planning data, organising and scheduling patient appointments, greeting and escorting patients and assisting patients with appointment queries.
- To assist and support radiotherapy staff to support the patients physical, clinical and emotional needs whilst attending. This includes care of post-operative patients, changing dressings, tracheostomy support, and working with patients that have communication difficulties due to their condition.
- Provides and receives routine information using tact, empathetic and reassurance skills towards patients and carers.
- Liaises between all Christie radiotherapy centers, host sites and community where appropriate
Knowledge, training and Experience
- Use knowledge of integrated clinical information system for case note tracking and collating of data for referrals.
- Data input and radiotherapy completion tasks
- Where applicable, provides retrieval of medical documents for clinical information including those from other Trusts
- Complies with policies, procedures, rules, regulations and departmental protocols.
- Production of suitable immobilisation equipment
- Provide clinical support for radiotherapy anaesthetic and recovery areas.
- Once training and competencies have been completed, working under the direction of the PBT radiographers to undertake routine and specifically identified tasks in order to support the running and organisation of clinical services in the PBT service once training and competencies have been completed.
Personal Skills
- Liaises with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that adequate information and support is available to patients
- Produces departmental statistics using appropriate systems, ensuring submission within given deadlines.
- Uses analytical skills to make judgments on patient situations such as deciding when issues need to be escalated and support provided.
- Cover the reception desk as needed, answering internal or external telephone calls.
- Maintain accurate patient details in all the Christie patient systems, following the correct procedures for recording of information to ensure information is up to date for future reference and complies with the data protection act.
Planning and Organisation
- Triage and management of booking forms, booking and scheduling of radiotherapy planning and treatment across all sites
- Books patient transport where applicable and deals with transport queries
- Booking and scheduling of physiotherapy and complimentary therapy and support services on site
- Using patient management system, ensure all radiotherapy appointments are recorded on Medway.
- Where appropriate use the Medway system to locate case notes for patients attending for Radiotherapy clinics, out-patient clinics or treatment
Responsibilities
- Is responsible for stock control in areas of work.
- Is responsible for the production and processing of all relevant completion letters following a patients treatment.
- Creation of Follow up letters on patients treatment completion.
- Pre-treatment imaging support
- Prepares patients for diagnostic procedures.
- Provide continuity of support during the absence of other clinical support workers, and booking team members
- Clinical and clerical support for all clinics in the Christie network, including AHP services.
- Organisation and provision of relevant medical equipment, used in applicable clinics, including sterilisation.
Patient Care
Undertakes a range of different delegated duties across the Radiotherapy Department as allocated by the relevant line manager. Will record patient information and data and contribute to the implementation of patients clinical care packages.
Freedom to Act
Will be required to utilise own initiative but work within defined SOPS, Procedures and Policies. When there is doubt or the post holder is unsure then there will be more senior members of staff available to raise issues with and receive guidance from.
Effort
- Patient transfer
- Manual handling tasks as required
Working conditions
- Working hours must be flexible to the needs of the service, this may include working weekends.
- May be expected to participate in all shift patterns
Teaching/Training
- Attends all relevant mandatory training courses
- Maintains own personal development
- Participate in relevant training, meetings and work at The Christie Withington site and other satellites within the network as required.
- Assists in the training and/or orientation of clinical support worker and any other students.
- Complete Christie Care Certificate as mandated by the Trust.
- Required to demonstrate tasks and duties to new and less experienced members of the team.
This is not an exhaustive list and additional duties may be required as requested by the lead radiographer/ principal radiographer.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Vocational healthcare qualification at level 3 or willingness to work towards
- Educated to GCSE level in Maths and English or equivalent qualification
Desirable
- Completion of Care Certificate
- AMSPAR Diploma (Association of Medical Secretaries and Practice Administrators and Receptionists Diploma)
Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of the healthcare support worker role in an Outpatient setting
- IT Literate
Desirable
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications
- Evidence of recent training
- Previous experience of Oncology patient management systems
Skills
Essential
- Effective communication and
- Customer/patient care skills
- Able to work using own
- Initiative, following instructions from a
- Registered professional and line management
- Ability to demonstrate and share care skills to more junior health care support workers
- Good IT skills with the ability to use/learn multiple Oncology patient management systems
- Excellent organisation skills with attention to detail
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a customer service or patient related environment
- Experience of undertaking administrative duties
Desirable
- Experience of using multiple healthcare IT systems
- Experience of working in a clinical environment within the NHS
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Vocational healthcare qualification at level 3 or willingness to work towards
- Educated to GCSE level in Maths and English or equivalent qualification
Desirable
- Completion of Care Certificate
- AMSPAR Diploma (Association of Medical Secretaries and Practice Administrators and Receptionists Diploma)
Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of the healthcare support worker role in an Outpatient setting
- IT Literate
Desirable
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications
- Evidence of recent training
- Previous experience of Oncology patient management systems
Skills
Essential
- Effective communication and
- Customer/patient care skills
- Able to work using own
- Initiative, following instructions from a
- Registered professional and line management
- Ability to demonstrate and share care skills to more junior health care support workers
- Good IT skills with the ability to use/learn multiple Oncology patient management systems
- Excellent organisation skills with attention to detail
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a customer service or patient related environment
- Experience of undertaking administrative duties
Desirable
- Experience of using multiple healthcare IT systems
- Experience of working in a clinical environment within the NHS
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.
