Macmillan Information and Support Centre Assistant

Are you a motivated person who possesses excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills and want to provide compassionate support to our patients? Then this exciting opportunity is for you! We are looking for an enthusiastic new team member to join our Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Service based at Furness General Hospital. You will have a passion for providing high quality patient focused care for our cancer patients, carers and families' who has a flexible attitude towards work and a desire for new challenges. General duties will include being the face of the centre, being there for people who need support. You will be required to signpost to services both internal and external and develop a good working relationship with clinical and non-clinical teams. You will develop an in-depth knowledge of Cancer Services and the complex needs of patients and carers who need your support. You will receive direct support from the centre manager to develop and enhance your skills. Enabling you to be there for people at what can be the most challenging time. You will support the manager in the day-to-day running of the Furness Centre, greeting patients, carers, relatives and professionals and supporting them in accessing high-quality information and support about the whole cancer pathway from prevention, early detection, symptom awareness, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, living with and beyond cancer, care of the dying and bereavement.,

• Assess the needs of individuals attending/contacting the service and identify the required level of intervention.
• Support and advise service users sensitively, helping them understand clinical information they have been given, which may relate to diagnosis and treatment, deciphering and explaining some cancer terminology.
• Help to resolve situations where users feel they have been given conflicting information, addressing concerns and queries and working to fix them.
• Organise own workload within the autonomous nature of the role, flexibility to manage the unpredictable work pattern, which can fluctuate from immediate response of the 'drop-in 'service to intense concentration when exposed to distressing and emotional circumstances.
• The ability to recognise and work within the limits of own competence and responsibility is crucial, referring issues beyond these limits to the Macmillan Information and Support Manager.
• Provide supporting information around topics such as reducing the risk of cancer, healthy living, diagnosis, treatment options, side effects and living with cancer in the most appropriate format (e.g. written, verbal, and others as appropriate to overcome any communication barriers).
• Provide advice on various issues, e.g. benefits and travel insurance, and facilitate access to services.
  
  We operate from three leading hospitals - Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI), and Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) in Kendal, as well as several community healthcare premises, including Millom Hospital and GP Practice, Queen Victoria Hospital in Morecambe, and Ulverston Community Health Centre.
FGH and the RLI have a range of General Hospital services, with entire Emergency Departments, Critical/Coronary Care units and various Consultant-led services. WGH provides a range of General Hospital services, together with an Urgent Treatment Centre, that can help with a range of non-life threatening conditions such as broken bones and minor illnesses. All three leading hospitals provide a range of planned care, including outpatients, diagnostics, therapies, day cases and inpatient surgery. In addition, a range of local outreach services and diagnostics are provided from community facilities across Morecambe Bay. Our community services for adults are provided in people's homes, community centres, clinics, GP Practices, community hospitals and our leading hospitals. We aim to work with people to help them remain independent, improve their health and manage their conditions through high-quality care, advice and support.

The Trust promotes flexible working opportunities where ever possible to enable staff to balance their work and home life. We are committed to Equal Opportunities and aim to be Effortlessly Inclusive . The trust operates a No Smoking Policy. Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our Person Specification will be shortlisted for Interview. We reserve the right to close a job advert early where sufficient applications have been received. The Trust does not offer interview expenses to shortlisted candidates unless indicated in the advert If the post is subject to Disclosure & Barring Service checking, (formally CRB) a charge of £49.50 for Enhanced and £21.50 for Standard clearance and additional to this a £4.90 administration fee will be made to the successful candidate(s). This currently only applies to roles Band 6 and above and Medical & Dental posts. Anyone newly appointed to the trust under the Agenda For Change contract, will be subject to the completion of a satisfactory 6 month probationary period. This will give the new staff member an opportunity to become familiar with the role and working environment. We have introduced a new system called Pre-Onboarding, specifically to support you right the way through to your first few months in your new role with us at UHMB. This bespoke site has lots of useful information to help you settle in to your new role including: what to expect from the recruitment clearances process, where to get a uniform, when you'll get paid etc. As well as information on a number of our services i.e. Infection Prevention, Anti-fraud, Inclusion and Diversity, Care Certificates and much more. To access click on this link https://www.uhmb.nhs.uk/uhmbt-pre-onboarding.