Lung Pathway Navigator Assistant

The post holder will be responsible for providing support to the early stages of the lung cancer patient pathways and supporting some less complex meetings. This involves identifying and booking of patients to support the National Optimum Lung Cancer Pathway (NOLCP) and all other suspected lung cancer pathways into the service.

The post holder will help 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 communication with patients, relatives, carers, and other health and social care professionals through the referral, vetting and booking processes. The information and nature of the communication required is sensitive due to the nature of cancer.

The Pathway Navigators are required to work closely with the Cancer Multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) and Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNS) to ensure timely patient care, efficient and well prepared meetings, and support the team in collecting and evidencing good working practice in line with National Cancer Standards, National Clinical Audits and Lung Screening Programme.

Main duties of the job

To provide general information and support to patients, relatives, carers, and other health and social care professionals. Communication in this context requires a high degree of empathy, understanding, diplomacy, honesty, and integrity.

Triage incoming calls, maxims referrals, Radar flagged imaging reports and emails, initiate an appropriate response according to protocols and individual pathways, using good communication skills, basic clinical awareness and appropriate tools and procedures, liaising as appropriate when non routine and refer complex decisions to the team for assessment and review.

Coordinate the necessary assessments, appointments, or investigations including the direct booking of rapid CT scans, management of virtual and fast track cancer clinics.

Demonstrate the ability to recognise and respond appropriately to changes in capacity for CTs or clinics.

Support lung pathway meetings such as the lung nodule and Lung screening (SRM) meeting by preparing agendas, attending to take outcomes and updating the cancer register with the outcomes and attendance records.

Support the wider team with delivery of cancer pathways by ensure the daily cancer PTL is reviewed and updated daily to prevent delays for patients.

Support information delivery.

Document contacts and bookings on the cancer register as required.

Place requests on hospital systems such as blood requests, to facilitate patient investigations.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) is the main provider of acute and specialist care services in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We serve a population of around 500,000 people - a figure that can increase significantly with

visitors during the busiest times of the year. We employ approximately 6,700 staff and have a budget of approximately £580 million.

We are a teaching hospital in partnership with the University of Exeter Medical School, University of Plymouth School of Nursing and Midwifery, and Peninsula Dental School.

The Knowledge Spa on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site is the base for medical and nursing as well as ongoing education for health professions in clinical and non-clinical roles.

Keeping at the forefront of medical advances, we are continually developing our clinical services as well as our facilities and are committed to maximising the range of specialist care that can be offered locally. Allied to this is a growing reputation for research and innovation.