Private Patient Sample Pathway Co-ordinator

The Royal Marsden has a vital role in championing change and improvement in cancer care through research, innovation, education, and leading-edge practice. We are proud of our international reputation for pushing boundaries and ensuring patients receive the very best and latest in cancer treatment and care.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Private Patient Sample Pathway Coordinator to join our Clinical Genomics team based at the Centre for Molecular Pathology in Sutton — a state-of-the-art facility at the forefront of molecular diagnostics and cancer genomics.

In this key role, you will coordinate and oversee the private patient sample pathway, ensuring timely and accurate processing, tracking, and reporting of specimens. You will act as the main point of contact for pathway queries, liaising with clinical teams, laboratories, and the Private Care and finance departments to maintain the highest standards of service, data accuracy, and patient experience.

We are seeking a highly organised and proactive individual with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. You will have a degree in a relevant scientific or healthcare discipline (e.g. Biomedical Science, Genetics, Healthcare Science) or equivalent experience, with strong IT and data management skills.

The Private Patient Sample Pathway Coordinator will play a key role in supporting the delivery of safe, effective, and efficient patient care by ensuring that all elements of the private patient sample pathway are proactively managed. The role involves responsibility for administrative, data management, and operational tasks relating to specimen reception, processing, reporting and return to support the smooth running of services and to optimise sample flow.

The post holder will be responsible for coordinating sample pathways to meet national and local performance targets , supporting service users and staff with accurate information, and ensuring robust systems are in place to prevent delays. They will act as the main point of contact for sample pathway queries, escalating issues appropriately.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:

2.1 Sample Pathway Coordination

• Oversee the end-to-end pathway for private patient samples, including receipt, registration, tracking, reporting, and return.
• Ensure specimens are correctly labelled, booked in, and processed according to Trust SOPs.
• Monitor sample progress using Patient Administration Systems (PAS/EPR) and laboratory information systems, resolving bottlenecks and escalating issues as needed.
• Liaise with laboratory sections, clinical teams, and external providers to ensure timely progression and reporting.
• Support compliance with national turnaround standards and private contractual obligations.
• Monitor Patient Tracking Lists (PTLs), validating data regularly to ensure accuracy and to identify potential breaches.
• Act as the first point of escalation for pathway issues, taking appropriate action or referring to senior staff as required.