Cancer Support Worker, Band 4 (15 hours a week)
This part time opportunity has arisen for a band 4 cancer support worker, working 2 days a week, on a Thursday and Friday with our upper gastrointestinal team.
The postholder will be a key member of the Cancer Team, working under the supervision of the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) to support patients throughout and beyond their cancer journey. The role focuses on helping patients navigate the health and social care services, coordinating care, providing practical and emotional support and leading the delivery of holistic needs assessments to identify and address the individuals concerns.
Working closely with the CNS team and wider support worker team, the postholder will signpost patients and carers to appropriate support services. The role requires excellent communication and organisational skills, professionalism, initiative, flexibility and a commitment to ongoing learning and development.
The role focuses on providing personalised support and information and care coordination for cancer patients and their families, promoting self management and wellbeing, and supporting the Clinical Nurse Specialist team to deliver high quality, patient centred cancer services.
Under the supervision of a registered practitioner, the post holder will provide information, support and guidance to cancer patients and their families throughout their cancer journey. They will be expected to undertake Holistic Needs assessments and contribute to personalised care plans. Support the patients to self manage, access services and make informed decisions about their care. Signpost and refer patients to healthcare, wellbeing and support services. Provide practical support and basic advice to patients with non-complex needs. Promote healthy lifestyle choices, prehabilitation and rehabilitation programmes. support the CNS team with administrative, audit and service development activities. Assist in improving cancer care pathways, patient experience and quality of care. Maintain accurate records and work in line with Trust policies, safeguarding requirements and professional standards. Manage workload effectively, seek support when required and participate in ongoing learning and development.
We take pride in placing people at the centre of everything we do, working together as a united team. Driven by a shared ambition to continually grow, develop, and learn, we recognise and value every contribution. By combining our experience and skills, we not only support our vibrant, diverse communities, but also support one another.
With a team of over 9,000 employees, we are proud to be the largest employer in Gloucestershire and rank among the top 10 largest Trusts in the South West region. By joining our Trust, you will benefit from an excellent package that includes exclusive benefits, flexible working opportunities and the chance to gain valuable experience in one or both of our innovative hospitals.
As well as generous annual leave allowance, you will have access to the excellent NHS pension scheme, competitive bank rates, discounts at local shops and restaurants, access to two on-site nurseries, discounted public transport, reward and recognition and a range of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Key Knowledge and experience
- Good General Education with GCSE English and Mathematics (Grades A-C or equivalent)
- Competence in the use of all Microsoft products
- Relevant Health or Social Care experience at AFC Band 3 or equivalent
- Efficient in the use of Microsoft Word for Windows, Excel, Power Point, Outlook and Internet
- Understanding of person-centred support
- Experience of multi-professional working
- Evidence of good communication skills
- Understanding of the health and social care environment
- Able to use own initiative and work without supervision
- Able to prioritise work and work of others
- Possess excellent communication skills
- Effective organization skills
- Ability to communicate both verbally and non-verbally on a daily basis with people at all levels
- Good observation skills
- Practical problem-solving skills
- Ability to work within a team
- Ability to retrieve information from a wide range of sources and in different formats
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1.Key Responsibilities
- The duties and responsibilities listed below should be undertaken in accordance with levels of competence. In addition, all staff are expected to act in accordance with the values and behaviours of the Trust.
Under the guidance and supervision of a registered practitioner:
- To provide general information and support about cancer services, to enable people to navigate the health and social care system and make choices that are best for their cancer and their life.
- A key aspect of the role involves daily and direct (e.g., face-to-face, virtual and telephone) communication with patients, relatives, carers and other health and social care professionals. The information and nature of communication required is sensitive due to the nature of cancer. Communication in this context requires a high degree of empathy, understanding, diplomacy, honesty and integrity.
- To utilise verbal and non-verbal communication skills to effectively communicate with patients, their families and carers. This will include patients/carers who may or may not have barriers to communication through cognitive or physical impairment e.g. hearing or visual impairment, confusion and depression.
- To meet the challenge of supporting patients living with the consequences of a cancer diagnosis. Encompassing patients receiving curative and palliative treatments and supportive care.
- Establish a process of Holistic Needs Assessment. Undertaking patient assessments and formulating individual Care Plans to best suit patient needs and preferences.
- To be responsible for accessing written resources to provide information for patients and carers.
- To integrate the support worker role into the existing service with the aim of maintaining personalised care, ensuring an excellent level of patient experience.
- To support the CNS team by contributing to the redesign of care pathways for patients with skin cancer to improve quality and patient safety.
- To be undertaken by negotiation, administrative tasks currently undertaken by the CNS team i.e. monitor databases, monitoring telephone helplines.
- Provide basic telephone advice and refer on or signpost to other sources of support.
- Communicate and signpost to appropriate needs related information.
- To be actively involved in service development plans such as Prehab etc.
- Guide people, using self-assessment resources.
- To strengthen the links with primary and secondary services and refer to multi-disciplinary team members as appropriate
- Be proactive and motivated; to be able to identify areas of potential future role development and demonstrate how this will contribute to an enhanced provision of patient care within the team.
- To undertake specific supervised and unsupervised work, organising and prioritising own caseload (within clearly defined boundaries).
- To directly support patients with non-complex needs, providing practical support and advice.
- To comply with Trust and Departmental policies and procedures e.g., Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), Manual Handline, clinical equipment competency, risk management, Data Protection Acts and patient confidentiality at all times. This will include demonstrating compliance with the terms of all safeguarding policies and processes relevant to the safeguarding of adults and children in the care of GHNHSFT and to undertake regular mandatory training concerned with safeguarding matters.
- Support people to access appropriate information and support, by signposting to a range of support services and taking an approach which helps people to manage where appropriate
- Advise patients on individual self-care management principles and review/further promote this information
- Encourage and support active and healthy lifestyle choices
- Planning/inviting/organising of health and well-being events or other supported self-management
2. Mental and emotional effort
- Make sure that people affected by cancer are aware that they are interacting with a healthcare professional and know about the full range of resources and services available
- Understand that there will be frequent exposure to distressing/highly distressing situations and when to seek appropriate support/advice
- Demonstrate an awareness of the limits of own practice and knowledge and when to seek appropriate support/advice
3. Most challenging part of the job
- Frequent exposure to emotional challenges when dealing with relatives and/or carers coping with uncertainty, loss of status/role, grief and physical change
- Frequent use of IT equipment, e.g. laptops
- Occasional exposure to aggressive or abusive patients or relatives
- To utilise the appropriate skills to communicate and assess patients being or having been treated for cancer or receiving supportive care.
- Assisting patients to contribute to the development of their own care plan, empowering them to make decisions at times where there may be anxiety and uncertainty.
- To encourage patients to enrol in prehab recommendations to optimise outcomes.
- To motivate patients to enrol in rehabilitation, when there may be reluctance or communication difficulties.
- To provide high quality care in a fast paced, ever changing working environment within the resources available. To contribute to the delivery of Trust Targets and National cancer initiatives.
- To manage an unpredictable workload additional to a scheduled timetable.
- To manage own stresses and emotional wellbeing within an emotionally challenging cancer group.
4. Communications and Working Relationships
- To utilise verbal and nonverbal communication skills to effectively communicate with patients, their families and carers. This may include patients/carers who may or may not have barriers to communication e.g., language, through cognitive or physical impairment
- To co-ordinate access to the right information and education resources to support people in making decisions about aspects of their own care, enable independence and support self-management as appropriate. Develop a partnership approach to working to empower the patient and carers.
- To motivate patients to enrol in rehabilitation, where there may be reluctance or communication difficulties
- Comment on proposed changes to policies and procedures
- Support and contribute to audit processes and service development
- To support the CNS team by contributing to the redesign of care pathways for patients with cancer to improve quality and patient safety
- Make sure that people affected by cancer are aware that they are interacting with a healthcare professional and know about the full range of resources and services available
- Understand that there will be frequent exposure to distressing/highly distressing situations and when to seek appropriate support/advice
- Take an active part in team meetings and audits as required
- Support people to access appropriate information and support, by signposting a range of support services and taking an approach which helps people to manage themselves where appropriate
- Encourage and support active and healthy lifestyle choices
- To form a link with all health and well-being events, referring patients as appropriate
- To encourage patients to enrol in prehab recommendations to optimise outcomes
- Deliver patient-centred, self-management support and education as necessary to non-complex patients, including how to self-assess
5. Physical effort and working conditions
- To receive regular clinical supervision as required
- Demonstrate self-directed learning, actively seeking role development opportunities to enhance knowledge and role progression
- Identify personal education needs and skills development with the registered practitioner
- Carry out some administration duties required by the role
- Order supplies and equipment
- Demonstrate an awareness of the limits of own practice and knowledge and when to seek appropriate support/advice.
