Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services. Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients. In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research. We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit. Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’. The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients. We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS. Job overview We have an exciting opportunity for a full-time Band 4 Cancer Support Worker (CSW) to join the Chemotherapy Day Unit (CDU) for a six-month initiative. This project aims to understand and address the unmet needs of chemotherapy patients and gain valuable insights into their treatment experiences. The successful candidate will work closely with a Band 7 nurse and the Macmillan Personalised Cancer Care Lead, providing Holistic Needs Assessments (HNA) to patients at various stages of their treatment. The role will involve offering crucial information and support, contributing to the project evaluation process to enhance patient care. Effective communication, empathy, and integrity are paramount as you engage with patients, carers, and health/allied care professionals. A proactive approach will be essential in identifying and addressing the needs of patients and carers, coordinating access to information, and empowering them to manage their care. Sound judgment is vital for responding to patient needs, providing advice, and escalating concerns when necessary. This role presents an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of cancer patients and their families. Please ensure you have obtained agreement from your line manager before applying. Main duties of the job This is a patient facing role and is centred on communicating with people affected by cancer, therefore successful candidates must have excellent communication skills, be compassionate and understanding at a time of great emotional need for our patients. To have a full understanding of Personalised Care and what was known as the 'Recovery Package' including Holistic Needs Assessments and personalised care and support plans, Treatment Summaries, Health and Wellbeing information and support and Personalised Stratified Follow up Contribute to the holistic needs assessment. To make sure that identified patients will complete the questionnaire and document these accordingly. Organise and prioritise the designated workload in relation to identified needs Evaluate outcomes of care delivery with the registered practitioner Identify indicators of need or changes in need through face to face contact and respond appropriately Act as advocate and facilitator to resolve issues that may be perceived as barriers to care Support people to access appropriate information and support, by sign-posting to a range of support services and take an approach which helps people to self-manage where appropriate. Provide administrative support to enable CNSs to have specialist time to be focused on patients. Support may include making referrals to other agencies or audits. Carry out administrative duties required by the role. Working for our organisation Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of the largest hospital trusts in the country: with around 12,500 staff; an annual turnover of more than £1 billion; and 1.6 million patient contacts a year. Our hospitals have a long and proud history, dating back almost 900 years, and have been at the forefront of medical progress and innovation since they were founded. We continue to build on these traditions and have a reputation for clinical, teaching and research excellence. We provide a full range of hospital services for our local communities and - from April 2011 – have integrated community services in Lambeth and Southwark into the Trust. We also provide specialist services for patients from further afield, including cancer, cardiac, kidney, women’s and orthopaedic services, and we are home to the Evelina Children’s Hospital. See www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk Detailed job description and main responsibilities Key Relationships Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT), Administrative Teams Cancer Performance Radiotherapy Chemotherapy Oncology Surgical and Palliative Care Primary Care teams Patients and their carers Macmillan Cancer Support, including Macmillan Information and Support Services National Cancer Information Service Voluntary sector groups Duties and Responsibilities This is a patient facing role and is centred on communicating with people affected by cancer, therefore successful candidates must have excellent communication skills, be compassionate and understanding at a time of great emotional need for our patients. To have a full understanding of Personalised Care and what was known as the 'Recovery Package' including Holistic Needs Assessments and personalised care and support plans, Treatment Summaries, Health and Wellbeing information and support and Personalised Stratified Follow up Contribute to the holistic needs assessment. To make sure that identified patients will complete the questionnaire and document these accordingly. Organise and prioritise the designated workload in relation to identified needs Evaluate outcomes of care delivery with the registered practitioner Identify indicators of need or changes in need through face to face contact and respond appropriately Act as advocate and facilitator to resolve issues that may be perceived as barriers to care Support people to access appropriate information and support, by sign-posting to a range of support services and take an approach which helps people to self-manage where appropriate. Provide administrative support to enable CNSs to have specialist time to be focused on patients. Support may include making referrals to other agencies or audits. Carry out administrative duties required by the role. Responsible for validation and updating of database(s) Support the planning/inviting/organising of informative events for patients Demonstrate the ability to recognise and respond appropriately when faced with a sudden deterioration or an emergency situation, alerting the team or enabling rapid response as appropriate Develop and maintain a good professional relationship with patients and with the specialist cancer teams Communicate appropriate needs related information Facilitate access to health and well-being services, and other support services Provide basic advice and refer on or sign-post to other sources of support Facilitate access to third sector support, e.g. Macmillan Information Services, HOPE programme Support patients and carers to access up-to-date and appropriate information, including sign posting to a range of support services Support the direction of the patient or carer to education or support areas. Encourage and support active and healthy lifestyle choices Support patients and carers to understand what signs, symptoms or situations to be aware of that would indicate concern Inform patients and carers on how to make contact when they feel that their condition or needs have changed, including what to do out of hours Support the delivery of patient and carer training and education. Planning/inviting/organising of Health and Well-Being events or other supported self-management events. To attend allocated Health & Well Being events, keeping comprehensive electronic records of attendance. Encourage and support active and healthy lifestyle choices Coach patients and carers on how to make contact when they feel that their condition or needs have changed, including what to do out of hours Contribute to the holistic needs assessment. To make sure that identified patients will complete the questionnaire and document these accordingly. Organise and prioritise the designated workload in relation to identified needs Evaluate outcomes of care delivery with the registered practitioner Coordinate and organise appointments and assessments as required Identify indicators of need or changes in need through telephone contact and respond appropriately Act as advocate and facilitator to resolve issues that may be perceived as barriers to care Support people to access appropriate information and support, by sign-posting to a range of support services and take an approach which helps people to self-manage where appropriate. Provide administrative support to enable CNSs to have specialist time to be focused on patients. Support may include making referrals to other agencies or audits such as patient experience surveys etc. Carry out administrative duties required by the role such as organising meetings, taking minutes, producing documentation and organizing supplies Offer suggestions for improvement of service Ensure that all daily tasks and on-going workloads are prioritized and completed within agreed timeframes. Demonstrate insight into own professional development, contributing to the process of identifying own educational and training needs in conjunction with line manager. Attend and actively participate in team / group meetings as required. Person specification Qualifications Essential criteria Comprehensive secondary education with a minimum of 5 GCSE’s Educated to diploma level or NVQ 3, City and Guilds certificate level in business administration or equivalent Evidence of some formal further training in short courses, experience of a range of admin practices and significant experience of hospital administration Desirable criteria Evidence of further education Customer services qualification / training IT package qualification / training e.g. European Computer Driving Licence (ECD) Counselling, Psychology or Mental Health qualification e.g. Counselling Diploma or Level 3 RQF Understanding Mental Health Previous experience Essential criteria Significant proven experience of delivering to high standards in a fast-paced high volume customer care environment Ability to deal with a range of issues independently and efficiently Proven administrative experience Desirable criteria Experience of an administrative role with the NHS Experience of supervising staff Experience of working across organisational boundaries Experience of working with IT Healthcare Systems, e.g. PIMS, CIS, EPR, EPIC Customer Services experience Skills Essential criteria Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to liaise effectively with a wide range of multi- disciplinary staff Able to communicate contentious / sensitive information to service users and internal colleagues Ability to work both autonomously and in a team Ability to work with confidential data and information and deal with sensitive issues discreetly Organisational and time management skills to meet deadlines Strong IT skills, particularly with relation to Microsoft Office packages, e.g. Word, Outlook and Excel Desirable criteria Knowledge of cancer /medical terminology Knowledge and understanding of Personalised Care previously knows as the Recovery Package Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership. Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy. As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends. Flexible working We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process. Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis. Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now." Applicant requirements This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Further details / informal visits contact Name Liz Graham Job title Macmillan Personalised Cancer Care Lead Email address [email protected] Telephone number 07926075686