Lung Cancer Screening Nurse - Band 8a

NHS Jobs; Epping (NH); On-site; USD 53,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking an experienced nurse specialist to support LDCT lung cancer pathways. You will collaborate across primary and secondary care, act as a patient advocate, and participate in MDTs to ensure timely investigations and optimal patient care.

The role requires autonomous clinical decision-making, robust documentation to NMC standards, and leadership in quality improvement within the lung cancer screening service.

Qualifications

• Registered nurse with NMC registration and current practising licence.
• Experience in cancer pathways and LDCT screening is desirable.
• Ability to lead and work within multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Act as patient’s key worker, coordinating care across primary and secondary pathways.
• Provide up-to-date information and support to patients and carers.
• Engage in MDT meetings and lead where appropriate.
• Analyse data and contribute to service improvement and governance.

Skills

Clinical leadership

MDT coordination

Advanced clinical skills

Education and training

Communication skills

Education

NMC registered nurse

Job description

Communicate with patients and general practice about positive findings of LDCT. This may include facilitating further management in primary and/or secondary care and could include speaking to clinicians outside of the Trust. Initiate and contribute towards a multi-disciplinary/ professional approach in the management of lung cancer To provide up-to-date information, support and advice to patients and their carers who have a diagnosis of lung cancer Sensitively handle difficult situations that may arise, involving patients, carers and healthcare professionals. Act as the patient’s key worker by forging close links across both primary and secondary pathways, co-ordinating seamless care delivery Utilise evidence-based information through a variety of communication media. Maintain adequate patient documentation to NMC requirements for all patients seen and advice given in any practice setting and contribute to clinical activity/data collection as required Work collaboratively with clinicians within the multidisciplinary team, and take the lead where appropriate, in identifying innovative ways to improve the service and patient care. Take responsibility for assessing and triaging patients referred on the lung cancer pathway and planning and implementing a diagnostic pathway. Be able to assess the quality of the referral in terms of completeness of mandatory information and request additional information where required. Undertake a clinical assessment including symptom assessment, past medical/surgical history and medications. Request downgrading of referral from ‘suspected cancer’ to routine where appropriate. Where lung cancer is suspected or needs to be excluded, request the appropriate diagnostic tests based on information from referral and telephone assessment. Provide explanations and information to the patient regarding their investigations and pathway. Liaise with endoscopy and radiology departments to ensure timely delivery of investigations in order to meet 28-day standard. Follow-up on test results and arrange any further investigations that are necessary. Where cancer has been excluded, communicate the results to the patient and discharge from the cancer pathway. If significant symptoms persist, arrange suitable follow-up. Link with site-specific cancer CNS and MDT co-ordinator in the event of a positive diagnosis. Work autonomously to provide evidence-based, comprehensive, advanced assessment, treatments and management of patients with highly complex needs, and to be able to instigate care pathways Providing specialist care and exercising professional and clinical leadership skills to promote best practice Work collaboratively with the Lead Nurse and Service Manager in supporting the safe and effective delivery of care within the 2WW and cancer pathways. Contribute to the collection, analysis and presentation of service delivery, patient outcome and key performance indicator data to support service monitoring and improvement To work with and refer appropriately to other agencies to enable identified patients to be managed in a pro-active way, with the aim of improving the overall patient and care experience. To foster a culture that encourages continuous learning and develop skills in quality improvement To act as a clinical champion for the lung cancer pathway, promoting best practice and supporting colleagues to enhance patient care delivery Critically analyse research related to practice, and use findings to influence and change practice where applicable To use expert knowledge, advanced clinical skills and autonomous decision-making skills, in the assessment and treatment of patients with lung cancer To educate and empower patients and carers to identify early signs of changes in conditions, and provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to gain independence and make informed choices to safely manage their conditions To participate in working groups relevant to the service within and external to the Trust and to represent the Trust at relevant stakeholder meetings/ committees Participate in identified management and service delivery meetings. Participate in MDT meetings, as agreed by the service and lead nurse to ensure smooth transitions of care and treatment where required. Participates and consults on the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies/ guidelines/ protocols relevant to specialist area Participates and consult upon the clinical governance process, including harm reviews, adverse incident reporting/ investigation and management of complaints, relevant to their area of practice and expertise Provide leadership and support for the nursing teams within the diagnostic and cancer pathways. To demonstrate robust clinical decision making, with an ability to set, monitor and improve standards of care To support recruitment, induction, supervision and development of staff within the Lung Cancer Screening service as delegated by the Matron or Service Manager In conjunction with the lead clinician, lead nurse and service manager, embrace national recommendations and standards for lung cancers, constantly striving to achieve these through updating Trust policies, trend analysis and new developments Act as patient advocate, ensuring ethical and legal issues are adhered to in all clinical practice In collaboration with other members of the MDT, develop and implement documentation that reflects the service standards of care and national cancer guidelines and standards Support the integration of theory and practice through formal and informal methods, including clinical educational opportunities Assess and identify the educational needs of patients and their carers and through appropriate advanced communication skills, aim to meet these needs Uses their professional judgement in managing complex and unpredictable care events and captures the learning from these experiences to improve patient care and service delivery. Provides expert professional input to appropriate health improvement programmes to meet the local agenda in line with the national framework To take a lead in promoting and managing change to improve practice, co-ordinating existing resources and developing links, locally and nationally. To act as a role model, to promote consistently high standards of professional practice To share expert knowledge, to advise, and provide support to less experienced nurses Identifies own development needs in line with service requirements within personal development plan and proactively develops and improves own competence. Frequently critically appraises and synthesises the outcomes of relevant research and evaluations and applies them to improve practice. Build a culture of audit and research in practice, in line with national research agendas and priorities. Demonstrate advanced clinical knowledge and skills in the speciality of lung cancer screening and respiratory medicine in relation to the assessment, care and management of patients with lung cancer and respiratory conditions Manage referral of patients who are identified as having a clinical requirement and identifying when a patient requires medical attention. Undertake training to be able to complete LDCT assessment and be able to facilitate appropriate on-going referrals. Proactively manage a referral, tracking and outcome process for CT scans and other tests Ensure onward referral to other relevant care providers i.e. smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation, etc

Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust