An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and compassionate Dementia and Delirium Practitioner to join the Geriatric Oncology team at The Christie. This specialist role will support older people living with dementia, cognitive frailty and delirium throughout their cancer pathway, helping to ensure they receive personalised, high-quality care that meets their physical, psychological and social needs.
Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will provide specialist assessment, support and care coordination for patients and their families from diagnosis through treatment and beyond. You will work collaboratively with cancer teams, geriatricians, allied health professionals, community services and carers to improve patient experience, optimise outcomes and promote continuity of care across organisational boundaries.
The successful candidate will act as a key resource for dementia and delirium care across the Trust, providing specialist advice, supporting service development and delivering education to staff. This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated practitioner who is passionate about improving care for older people affected by cancer and driving improvements in dementia and delirium care within a specialist cancer centre.
The Dementia and Delirium Practitioner will provide specialist assessment, advice and support to patients with dementia, cognitive frailty and delirium throughout their cancer pathway. You will undertake holistic assessments, contribute to personalised care and support plans and help patients and families navigate complex treatment and care decisions.
Working closely with the Geriatric Oncology team and wider multidisciplinary teams, you will coordinate care, support outpatient clinics and MDT discussions, and ensure patients receive timely access to appropriate services and support. You will provide ongoing advice, symptom management and emotional support, promoting person-centred care and continuity throughout the cancer journey.
The role includes delivering education and training on dementia and delirium across the Trust, supporting staff to develop confidence and competence in caring for patients with cognitive impairment. You will contribute to quality improvement, audit, research and service development activities, helping to ensure services are evidence-based, responsive and aligned with national cancer and dementia priorities.
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, looking after more than 64,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 25% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.
We are the largest radiotherapy provider in the NHS with one in 20 treatments delivered at The Christie. We have up to 15 linear accelerators operating across our network of sites. We operate the largest chemotherapy unit in the UK on our main site and treatments are also provided at 13 other networked sites, and in patients homes. And as a specialist tertiary surgical centre, we focus on rare cancers, complex procedures, and multidisciplinary approaches to cancer surgery, specialising in colorectal, peritoneal, gynaecological, urological and plastic surgery.
We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We have been named by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), as one of the best hospitals providing opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research studies, with more than 800 studies open at any time, caring for over 3,000 patients.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Key Working Relationships:
The post holder will build and maintain effective working relationships with:
1. Lead Dementia and Frailty Practitioner
2. Members of the geriatric oncology team.
3. Clinical cancer teams, particularly the Cancer Care and Support Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Specialists and MDT Co-ordinators.
4. Cancer clinicians including medical colleagues and Allied Health Professionals.
5. Operational and managerial teams within the hospitals.
6. Macmillan Information and Support Centre team.
7. Health, social and community network, external statutory / charity / third sector organisations within Greater Manchester.
Clinical:
1. Provide appropriate support and specialist practitioner input to agreed standards throughout the diagnostic process, at diagnosis and throughout the cancer pathway
2. The postholder will assess individuals’ care needs, developing, planning, implementing and evaluating care to meet the needs of patients within the clinical environment and outpatient setting.
3. Identify and assess patients physical, social and psychological needs to support the development of holistic needs assessment and personalised care and support plans.
4. Provide on-going advice and support to enable patients to make informed decisions about their management and care
5. Support the delivery of all personalised cancer care key metrics as per national recommendations.
6. Provide advice, support and symptom management for patients and carers within the scope of expected practice aligned with the ACCEND framework for registered/enhanced level of practice.
7. Communicate highly complex and sensitive information to patients and carers within clinical competence.
8. To make judgements surrounding complex health concerns or situations which require analysis, interpretation and a range of care options to enable the initiation of nursing care interventions.
9. Support outpatient clinics ensuring patients have appropriate support and information as well as an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns, providing written and verbal information.
10. Attend and support discussions within the multi-Disciplinary team (MDT) meetings. Supporting with the communication of outcomes with patients, clinicians, and other relevant members of the MDT. This includes the use of digital tools to communicate safely and effectively.
11. To support the coordination and provision of services to patients throughout the cancer pathway ensuring continuity of care, aiding communication between internal and external MDTs and liaising with medical, surgical and oncology services.
12. Advise patients and their families regarding future management and liaise as appropriate with the multi-disciplinary health care teams, including voluntary agencies and hospices.
13. Complete and utilise Advanced Communications Skills and Psychological Support Level 2 training in daily practice.
14. Work collaboratively with key stakeholders to support the implementation of local, regional and national strategies.
15. Meet and welcome service users, be proactive in establishing positive and professional communication with the public.
Leadership & Management
1. Analyse various sources of information to assess risks and make judgement on the potential impact.
2. Organise and plan own caseload activity to meet the needs of the patients and demands of the service.
3. Contribute to the effective planning and use of resources.
4. Monitoring of agreed standards of care and action planning to assess the effectiveness.
5. Participate in the development of annual reports and/or service reviews.
6. Contribute to the Trust Cancer Quality Surveillance process.
7. The postholder will be expected to deputise for the other senior specialist practitioners in the team as required.
8. To evaluate existing service, identifying areas for improvement and encourage team working, innovation and development in practice.
9. Use digital tools and technology when evaluating services, in quality improvement, audit and research
10. Attend departmental and network meetings as required.
Education and Development:
1. Attend national and regional meetings and conferences appropriate to the role and service to ensure knowledge and skills are refreshed and kept up to date, sharing learning with colleagues.
2. Meet the required competency standards for the specialist practitioner role in line with ACCEND and site-specific competencies as required.
3. Assist in the provision of a supportive learning environment for students and other learners.
4. Provide and develop specialist teaching which will include practical and theoretical sessions to support multi-professional staff.
5. The postholder will be supported to identify personal objectives in conjunction with their line manager and access further education as required to improve specialist knowledge and skills.
6. Establish and maintain evidence-based practice in the clinical environment ensuring processes are in place for the identification, collection, and evaluation of information to support clinical decision making.
7. Champion the use of digital technology utilising digital technologies to support personal learning and other learners within the team.
Research & Audit
1. To assist and participate in research, development, and audit within speciality and clinical competence.
2. Demonstrate the ability to use current research to develop practice, ensuring this is from a reliable source and evidenced based.
3. Provide support to staff willing to undertake research and education projects.
Professional:
1. Maintain accurate and timely patient records and documentation in accordance with the clinician’s professional body (NMC or HCPC) Code of Conduct and Trust policy.
2. Actively contribute and participate in the Trust’s clinical governance agenda.
3. Maintain continued professional development.
4. Complete mandatory training in line with Trust policy.
5. Demonstrate and endorse the agreed set of values and accountable for own attitude and behaviour.
6. Ensure timely compliance with the professional regulations relating to revalidation to maintain NMC or HCPC registration.
7. Act as a professional role model, providing visible leadership to the nursing team and encouraging all staff to lead by example in their individual roles.
8. Deal personally with patients, relatives or visitors who make a complaint in line with trust policy taking all appropriate steps to resolve any issues raised.
These duties and responsibilities are neither exclusive nor exhaustive and staff may be required to undertake other duties and responsibilities consistent with the band.
