Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to apoint a Systemic Anti
Cancer Pathway navigator within County Durham and darlington Foundation trust.
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 within primary
care, secondary care and tertiary centres.
They will be point of access to receive and act
upon notification of any new treatment starts or any changes in treatments
identified at the diagnostic stage. 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 SACT Pathway Navigator will work across UHND, Shotley Bridge, Bishop
Auckland and Darlington in conjunction with visiting Oncologists, Radiology,
the multi-disciplinary team Cancer Pathway Coordinators and members of
multi-disciplinary teams in primary and secondary care and third sector
organisations.
Main duties of the job
The SACT Pathway Navigator will work across UHND, Shotley
Bridge, Bishop Auckland and Darlington in conjunction with visiting
Oncologists, Radiology, the multi-disciplinary team Cancer Pathway Coordinators
and members of multi-disciplinary teams in primary and secondary care and third
sector organisations. 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 SACT 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 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.
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 been employed for a minimum of two years
of as a HCA Band 3 within the NHS 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
Direct communication (making reasonable adjustments to
accommodate patient need) with patients and their representatives and primary
and secondary care teams.
Work collaboratively across primary and secondary care to
ensure effective identification and flagging of vulnerable patients or those
requiring reasonable adjustments to services early in the pathway.
Coordinate information flow from diagnostic teams to
patients, Oncology/ Haematology Teams and MDT teams to patients, primary care
teams and MDT teams when investigations are required.
To be actively involved in various cancer projects as
required to improve appropriate and timely use of diagnostics, working with
clinicians in primary and secondary care, CRUK Facilitators, Macmillan Post
holders, CCGs and community/voluntary groups (including County Durham Joining
The Dots scheme).
Assist the cancer management team to produce action plans
for continuous improvement.
Represent the Trust at internal forums and meetings and
feedback to Trust colleagues.
Support cancer multidisciplinary teams within the cancer
locality with any network-wide and local service improvement projects.
Identify delays in pathways and report in a timely way to
collaborate in planning changes to pathways and minimise delays from diagnosis
to treatment.
Audit and evaluate the effectiveness of the role including
patient experience, stage at presentation, patient timeline, detail on any
referral for support, diagnosis date, time spent on each patient. Provide evidence regularly through a written
report to the Cancer Services Improvement Manager and Cancer Services Manager.
Facilitate individual patient journeys through designated
cancer pathways to reduce avoidable delays in treatment.
Co-ordinate all cancer staging imaging requests referred to
Radiology and liaise with relevant Oncology/ Haematology secretaries to ensure
appointments are made in a timely manner to meet cancer wait time standards.
Liaise with the patient, Central Appointments Team, Clinical
Nurse Specialists and Radiology to arrange imaging or out-patient appointments
at point of referral.
Organise additional tests required as pre-requisite (e.g.
bloods for kidney function) to imaging via the GP or within the Trust, with
close communication and discussion with the patient.
To report/escalate any waiting time issues for imaging to
the Radiology General Manager and expedite imaging appointments and/or reports.
Report/escalate any waiting time issues for 2week wait
appointments with Patient Booking Manager and Care Group Managers and expedite
availability of slots.
Act as point of contact for availability of final imaging
reports and expedite to Radiology General Manager if reports are delayed.
Receive notification of new, suspicious or recurrent cancers
identified at the diagnostic stage and alert the Cancer Pathway Teams and MDT
and ensure next steps/appointments are arranged.
Communicate effectively with patients and where required,
their families/carers to ensure they are kept informed, are available and
prepared for follow up investigations.
Signpost patients and their representatives from
vulnerable groups to local resources to support patient access to cancer
services through transport, advocacy and buddy systems. Including but not exclusively; CRUK Facilitators,
Macmillan Post holders, CCGs and community/voluntary groups (including County
Durham Joining The Dots scheme)
Job description
Job responsibilities
Direct communication (making reasonable adjustments to
accommodate patient need) with patients and their representatives and primary
and secondary care teams.
Work collaboratively across primary and secondary care to
ensure effective identification and flagging of vulnerable patients or those
requiring reasonable adjustments to services early in the pathway.
Coordinate information flow from diagnostic teams to
patients, Oncology/ Haematology Teams and MDT teams to patients, primary care
teams and MDT teams when investigations are required.
To be actively involved in various cancer projects as
required to improve appropriate and timely use of diagnostics, working with
clinicians in primary and secondary care, CRUK Facilitators, Macmillan Post
holders, CCGs and community/voluntary groups (including County Durham Joining
The Dots scheme).
Assist the cancer management team to produce action plans
for continuous improvement.
Represent the Trust at internal forums and meetings and
feedback to Trust colleagues.
Support cancer multidisciplinary teams within the cancer
locality with any network-wide and local service improvement projects.
Identify delays in pathways and report in a timely way to
collaborate in planning changes to pathways and minimise delays from diagnosis
to treatment.
Audit and evaluate the effectiveness of the role including
patient experience, stage at presentation, patient timeline, detail on any
referral for support, diagnosis date, time spent on each patient. Provide evidence regularly through a written
report to the Cancer Services Improvement Manager and Cancer Services Manager.
Facilitate individual patient journeys through designated
cancer pathways to reduce avoidable delays in treatment.
Co-ordinate all cancer staging imaging requests referred to
Radiology and liaise with relevant Oncology/ Haematology secretaries to ensure
appointments are made in a timely manner to meet cancer wait time standards.
Liaise with the patient, Central Appointments Team, Clinical
Nurse Specialists and Radiology to arrange imaging or out-patient appointments
at point of referral.
Organise additional tests required as pre-requisite (e.g.
bloods for kidney function) to imaging via the GP or within the Trust, with
close communication and discussion with the patient.
To report/escalate any waiting time issues for imaging to
the Radiology General Manager and expedite imaging appointments and/or reports.
Report/escalate any waiting time issues for 2week wait
appointments with Patient Booking Manager and Care Group Managers and expedite
availability of slots.
Act as point of contact for availability of final imaging
reports and expedite to Radiology General Manager if reports are delayed.
Receive notification of new, suspicious or recurrent cancers
identified at the diagnostic stage and alert the Cancer Pathway Teams and MDT
and ensure next steps/appointments are arranged.
Communicate effectively with patients and where required,
their families/carers to ensure they are kept informed, are available and
prepared for follow up investigations.
Signpost patients and their representatives from
vulnerable groups to local resources to support patient access to cancer
services through transport, advocacy and buddy systems. Including but not exclusively; CRUK Facilitators,
Macmillan Post holders, CCGs and community/voluntary groups (including County
Durham Joining The Dots scheme)
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Previous administrative experience within the NHS
- Previous experience of data collection, validation and reporting
- Experience of supervising/managing staff
- Experience of training / coachingevious experience in Health Care
Special Skills & 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
- Knowledge of hospital based information systems
- 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.
Desirable
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma level qualification / foundation degree or equivalent experience
- Evidence of Continuous Professional
Desirable
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Previous administrative experience within the NHS
- Previous experience of data collection, validation and reporting
- Experience of supervising/managing staff
- Experience of training / coachingevious experience in Health Care
Special Skills & 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
- Knowledge of hospital based information systems
- 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.
Desirable
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma level qualification / foundation degree or equivalent experience
- Evidence of Continuous Professional
Desirable
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.
