Advanced Cancer Care Navigator

Job overview

A new and exciting job role has arisen within the UGI Cancer Nursing Team for a Band 4 Cancer Care Navigator.

Are you organised, caring and eager to improve patient experience within the Upper GI cancer setting, if so this could be the role for you. It will involve supporting the patients through their diagnosis and treatment pathways ensuring they have the best experience, you will also be a key member of the lung cancer team and will be part of the multi disciplinary team.

This is administration role and you will need experience and the relevant qualifications outlined in the person specification.

Main duties of the job

The UGI are navigator is a non clinical, mainly telephone based service for cancer patients of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, their family, friends and carers. The navigators are the first and single point of contact for any questions and queries that you may have.

The purpose of this role is to complement the existing cancer site specific team. To help them support patients through diagnosis, treatment pathways and follow up.

This would involve providing patients with information about appointments.

Signposting patients/carers to services on where to access information, advice and support.

Liaise with the UGI clinical nurse specialists if patients need contacting about a clinical question about their cancer or care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Ensure patients and careers are treated with dignity and respect and in keeping with the RWT approach and Macmillan values.
• Provide dedicated and knowledgeable support to patients receiving care and treatment at RWT
• Demonstrate a broad understanding of cancer treatments offered within RWT and tertiary centres.
• Co-ordinate the transfer of care between service teams, or facilitation of service provision across interfaces of care – for example primary and secondary care
• Refer to other team members when appropriate and following discussion with the Clinical Nurse Specialist.
• Develop good working relationships and liaison between other departments and Healthcare professionals within the RWT
• Assess patients using Holistic Needs Assessment Tool and document accordingly.
• Participate in initiatives to explore patient experience and service feedback
• Use computer skills to document assessments.
• Identify with the Clinical Nurse Specialist those patients requiring a Holistic Needs Assessment and support those requiring Level 1-2 psychological support within own skill base.
• Keep all assessments up to date electronically and maintain database.
• Organise own workload and be able to update Clinical Nurse Specialists of progress in line with agreed work plan.
• Monitor and check appointments and diagnostic tests are booked and undertaken in an appropriate and timely manner.
• Ensure patients receive timely and appropriate information in regard to their diagnosis and treatment and signpost to appropriate supportive leaflets and literature.
• Respond to telephone queries by a model of triage and appropriate referral to CNS or other allied healthcare professional.
• Ensure accurate and timely documentation.
• Communicate directly with patients, relatives and carers demonstrating empathy, understanding and respect. Information discussed and received will often require tact or persuasive skills, to ensure safety and understanding around treatment side effects as well as an understanding of complex information around treatment options and end of life care.
• Assist in the discharge planning of patients with appropriate community follow up for their psychological needs or support.
• Participation in obtaining and collating patient satisfaction with care using questionnaires, results of Friends and Family Test and new patient experience tools such as Evidence Based Design.
• Assist the CNSs with the implementation of Treatment Summary Records
• Maintain stock levels of relevant assessment tools, psychological support exercises and relevant Macmillan & local support information within the clinical areas.
• Be aware of the particular physical and psychological needs of the patient, observe and listen and report on any changes to the patient’s condition or concerns, alerting the CNS or registered nursing staff so that any necessary treatment and/or reassurance can be given to maintain patient safety/well-being. This will involve prioritising a patient’s clinical and psychological symptoms and judging how best to action any concerns when there may not be a straightforward choice of options.
• Plan and organise own workload to ensure patient needs are prioritised. Plan and organise own day to day workload, which will also involve liaising with several other healthcare professionals and external agencies. Develop patient care plans, based on information discussed within an Holistic Needs Assessment.
• Help patients and relatives overcome barriers to understanding when English is not their first language.
• Reporting all complaints and untoward occurrences as per trust policy.
• Participation in Macmillan training and education opportunities for self-development and shared experience.
• Participate in other duties to reflect an evolving healthcare service as appropriate.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.