Specialist in Special Care Dentistry

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to recruit a Band 4 Cancer Support Worker in Urology at Whittington Health NHS Trust.

The cancer support worker is instrumental in supporting the Urology Clinical Nurse Specialists in providing exceptional patient care to patients who are progressing through various cancer diagnosis and treatment pathways, with a particular focus on supporting in the Holistic Needs Assessments of patients.

The main purpose of the Urology Cancer Support Worker is to support people affected by cancer to navigate the complex health and social care system, both during and following completion of cancer treatment. The Urology Cancer Support Worker will facilitate this by building relationships with professionals and supporting patients to access relevant services, including generating referrals on the person’s behalf where necessary. The post holder will support the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) to coordinate care by providing a single point of access, including rapid re-entry into the system, for those people identified as having 
urgent or specialist needs; and to provide education and support for people with non complex care needs.

Main duties of the job

The main purpose of the Urology Cancer Support Worker is to support people affected by cancer to navigate the complex health and social care system, both during and following completion of cancer treatment. The Urology Cancer Support Worker will facilitate this by building relationships with professionals and supporting patients to access relevant services, including generating referrals on the person’s behalf where necessary. The post holder will support the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) to coordinate care by providing a single point of access, including rapid re-entry into the system, for those people identified as having 
urgent or specialist needs; and to provide education and support for people with non complex care needs.

Working for our organisation

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Coordination of care 
1. Provide regular supported conversations with the person living with cancer, assessing their holistic needs, and supporting them to self-manage by providing relevant information and advice, and signposting to Macmillan resources and relevant services available, to meet their identified needs.
2. Contribute to the completion of the holistic needs assessment and development of an individual care plan under the direction of the Urology CNSs.
3. Following the holistic needs assessment, coordinate care with the person living with cancer so they can access the right help at the right time, providing a seamless experience of care. Ensuring the person is able to self-manage and provide a flexible and personalised response to any changes in need.
4. To provide Level 1 psychological support to patients / carers, referring patients who require Level 2 support to the Urology CNSs.
5. Provided practical and emotional support to the person living with cancer and their families whilst recognising that information needs may change over time. 
Work with the person to ensure they have all the information and support they need at all stages of the cancer journey.
6. Triage incoming calls, providing general advice to healthcare professionals and patients / carers and referring complex / specialist issues to the Urology CNSs.
7. Provide general telephone advice and refer on or signpost to other sources of support as appropriate.
8. Make pre planned outgoing telephone calls to patients to assess ongoing needs and monitor progress, liaising with the Urology CNSs and other members of the healthcare team as appropriate in order to initiate a proactive prevention approach.
9. Coordinate the necessary assessments, appointments, investigations and tests as identified in the patients care plan.
10. Support the Urology CNSs in the coordination of care to facilitate safe and effective transition between services in order to provide seamless support for people affected by cancer.
11. Support the delivery of patient information to ensure people receive appropriate verbal / written communications in a timely manner – including printing patient information, referring to the Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Service and ensuring that patients receive the patient information pack and understand its contents.
12. Document and monitor all aspects of care coordination and service delivery, supporting data collection on Macmillan Right by You acute Performance Metrics, and how people living with cancer use the service, including care, support and follow up services they access.
13. Act as the patient advocate and facilitator in order to resolve issues that may be perceived as barriers to care.
14. Evaluate outcomes of care delivery with the Urology CNS team. 

Clinical 
Demonstrate effective approaches to monitoring signs and symptoms of physical, mental, cognitive, behavioural and emotional distress, deterioration and 
improvement. This may include (as appropriate): 
1. Accurately measure weight and height, calculate body mass index and recognise healthy ranges and clinically significant low / high readings. 
2. Use manual techniques and devices to take, record and interpret vital signs including temperature, pulse, respiration (TPR), blood pressure (BP) and pulse oximetry in order to identify signs of improvement, deterioration or concern .
3. Undertake venepuncture and routine ECG recording. 
4. Measure and interpret blood glucose levels. 
5. Collect specimens (sputum, urine etc), interpret findings and report as appropriate. 
6. Undertake specialist diagnostic tests (after receiving training) such as COVID swabs, spirometry. 
7. Recognise and escalate signs of all forms of abuse 
8. Recognise signs of mental and emotional distress including agitation, or 
vulnerability. 
9. Observe and monitor comfort and pain levels escalating to the appropriate clinician.

Communication 
1. Support the delivery of patient and carer training and education, including use of equipment.
2. Encourage and support active healthy lifestyle choices
3. Coach patients and carers to understand the signs, symptoms or situations to be aware of that would indicate concern.
4. Inform patients and carers on how to make contact when they feel their condition or needs have changed, including what to do out of hours.
5. Ensure that patients and carers are aware that they are interacting with a Macmillan professional and are made aware of the full range of resources and services available through Macmillan.
6. Actively engage with Macmillan Cancer Support to contribute expertise and experience to support the Macmillan Corporate Strategy.
7. Effectively utilise a computer and various software applications in order to enter and maintain patient data, communicate with the multidisciplinary team and complete other IT tasks as required by the post
8. Discuss support options with patients and carers with sensitivity and ensure that the Urology CNS team is kept informed of outcomes
9. Promote patient / user involvement relating to the provision of cancer care.
10.Record activity on the Somerset Cancer Register database.

 
Professional 
1. To participate and display a willingness to learn, develop a relevant technical 
competency / area of interest and keep up to date with current national and local issues and developments.
2. To routinely participate in departmental audits, and input data as requested.
3. To be responsible for own learning in knowledge base relevant to own clinical area including mandatory training and the successful completion of clinical proficiencies as required for speciality.
4. To be responsible for imparting information about the technical area of knowledge to other health care professionals as appropriate.
5. To participate in regular formal supervision and develop a personal development plan in order to promote learning and enhance skills.
7. To be responsible for managing own daily timetable of delegated tasks including time for supervision and training.
8. To maintain professional working relationships within the trust, and other relevant organisations. 
9. To access and input confidential patient information in accordance with the agreed policy and procedure.
10. Carry out administrative duties as required by the role
11. Demonstrate an awareness of the limits of own practice and knowledge and when to seek appropriate support / advice.
12. Participate and contribute to service review and development
13. Understand that there will be frequent exposure to distressing situations and when to seek appropriate support / advice.

Other responsibilities 
1. To undertake any other such duties as may be required from time to time which are consistent with the responsibilities of the grade.
2. To provide cover for other Macmillan Cancer Support Workers at Whittington Health when required for AL / study leave.
3. To comply with the Trusts and departments policies, guidelines and procedures.
4. To attend all mandatory training as required in line with Trust employment and professional need.
5. To participate in team meetings. 
6. To be responsible for informing your line manager of any issues relating to the ability to safely carry out duties.
7. To be aware of departmental duties and initiatives to ensure a safe environment, recognising patients’ requirements for privacy and dignity.
8. To recognise and comply with the trust and departmental policies and procedures for incident reporting.
9. To ensure confidentiality at all times in accordance with Trust policy and 
procedure.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

GCSE Level 4 or above or equivalent including Mathematics & English Evidence of continued role development Recent role development in healthcare or other industry with transferable skills

Desirable criteria

Level 3 Health or Social care qualification (NVQ or similar) Level 1 communication

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

Able to use own initiative and work without supervision. Able to prioritise own work and work of others. Possess excellent communication skills.

Desirable criteria

Practical problem-solving skills.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

Proficient in use of Microsoft word, Excel, PowerPoint, outlook, and internet. Understanding of patient centred care. Good documentation and written skills.

Desirable criteria

Relevant health or social care experience. Sound knowledge of medical terminology. Previous medical secretarial or administrative experience.

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies , procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:

Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines. Participate in required training and supervision. Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

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