Cancer Co-ordinator Band 4

Job overview

The Cellular Pathology Department is seeking to appoint a Cancer Coordinator based at the Bedford site. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing the progression of samples through the diagnostic pathway up to the point of referral. This post is offered on an 18‑month fixed‑term contract.

The department processes approximately 44,000 surgical and diagnostic requests annually across two sites: Luton & Dunstable Hospital and Bedford Hospital. As part of Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a large general hospital, we manage a wide range of tissue and diagnostic cytology specimens, including post‑mortem examinations.

The Pathology Department is currently undergoing a merger, with the main Cellular Pathology Laboratory to be located at Bedford Hospital. Staff may be required to work occasional shifts at the Luton & Dunstable site.

Our Pathology services hold full UKAS accreditation and operate in compliance with HTA and MHRA regulations.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will contribute to the day‑to‑day management of the inter‑trust cancer pathway, including:

• Monitoring_and_tracking — Monitoring, reporting, and tracking cancer patients to ensure their pathway progresses in a timely and efficient manner.
• Single_point_of_contact — Acting as the single point of contact for all cancer MDT pathways within Histology.
• Resolving_delays — Identifying and resolving delays at the earliest opportunity, and escalating issues to the Histology Operational Manager when necessary.

The post holder will also be responsible for the prospective collection of data, ensuring accuracy at all times. This includes maintaining proficiency in histology systems, analysing target breaches, and reporting findings to the Histology Operations Manager.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Patient Navigating

To navigate samples through the diagnostic pathway, from point of referral to Histology. Using hospital IT systems.

To proactively manage samples in accordance with the National Targets.

To escalate diagnostic samples for target patients, (if falling outside the appropriate timescale).

To proactively identify and resolve delays at all stages in the patient pathway. Where this is not possible, to follow the escalation procedure to line Management.

To ensure that samples which require transfer to a tertiary centre are transferred in accordance with agreed timescales.

To highlight any bottlenecks within the process, communicating regularly with line management, and where possible suggesting and implementing solutions.

To liaise, if necessary with other Trusts in order to achieve continuous monitoring of the sample pathway.

Be the single point of contact for Imaging and wider trust to ensure 2ww target is implemented for all imaging referrals.

Please refer to the attached Job Description file.