Overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced cancer nurse to join the cancer services team at Walsall HealthCare NHS Trust. The Lead Cancer Nurse will provide strategic leadership for the cancer nursing and Allied Health Professional (AHP) workforce, ensuring high-quality, patient-centred care. This will involve working with key stakeholders such as the West Midlands Cancer Alliance (WMCA), Integrated Care Boards (ICB), Macmillan and local commissioners to ensure the national and local cancer agenda is implemented.
Lead the nursing agenda to develop specialist cancer services in support of the 10‑Year Health Plan for England and the National Cancer Plan 2026.
This role will ensure cancer care for all patients within the Trust is of a high standard, equitable and consistent and in line with national and regional guidance.
The post holder will also support the Divisional Directors of Nursing overseeing the delivery of quality safety improvements, linking national standards to ensure services meet required and best practice. They will have Trust oversight of harm reviews related to cancer patient pathways and will provide expertise to the divisions identifying areas for improvement or development.
The postholder will support the roll‑out and promotion of educational opportunities that would facilitate the multi‑professional team skills and knowledge of clinical practice with reference to the ACCEND core capability framework.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
- Develop strong, effective relationships with the cancer nurse specialists and collaborate with lead professionals representing the AHPs to ensure a patient‑centred multidisciplinary approach to care is maintained across the Trust.
- Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative models of care delivery, ensuring cancer services are of a high standard, equitable and consistent.
- Work with all major stakeholders in the business planning process for cancer services, ensuring that improvements are driven by the quality of patient experience and are in line with local and network priorities and key performance measures.
- Encourage communication with patients, visitors and staff and through observations of practice and monitoring of standards ensure the maintenance of an optimal environment for patient care.
- Provide leadership for change and service improvement within all cancer areas, through the promotion of nursing as a profession within the multi‑disciplinary environment.
- Lead the embedding of or implementation of projects aligned to the National Policy for Cancer Strategy, including the Person Centred Follow Up Pathway and the embedding of Personalised Care across cancer services.
- Work collaboratively with all major stakeholders to ensure the delivery of quality cancer services is in line with their values and priorities.
- Co‑ordinate and chair cancer nursing and AHP meetings regularly within the Trust and liaise with the Trust Cancer steering group, lead clinicians of each cancer specific tumour group and AHPs, ensuring the professional exchange of information and adherence to national cancer standards and responses to urgent local, regional and national directives.
- Advise on the establishment and skill mix of appropriate cancer nursing workforce, particularly cancer nurse specialist posts, to ensure the delivery of robust cancer services and actively contribute to the recruitment of senior nursing staff involved in cancer care.
- Demonstrate expert knowledge of clinical practice and support and develop lead and senior cancer care nurses across the Trust to advance the development and practice of research and evidence‑based cancer nursing in line with national recommendations and standards where available.
- Act as a positive role model through the provision of effective professional leadership for relevant clinical teams, maintaining high visibility through clinical practice and observations of care.
- Take professional responsibility for all the Cancer CNSs within the Trust.
- Lead on ensuring patient complaints, adverse clinical incidents / harm and near‑miss events are identified and, using a structured framework such as Datix, root‑cause analysis or AAR, are effectively monitored and reviewed with appropriate actions taken. Provide assurance to the Divisional Governance group and Divisional Quality Board through monthly reporting.
- Lead the professional cancer nursing contribution and compliance to the Trust’s clinical governance framework, working with the Cancer management team and divisions to identify specific risks and effectively monitor them on the risk register, with appropriate actions taken.
- Liaise closely with the West Midlands Cancer Alliance, ICBs, PCNs and other significant stakeholders to implement policies, strategies, guidelines and initiatives related to the national and regional cancer agenda.
- Act as a key link on nursing and AHP issues to the West Midlands Cancer Alliance, ICBs, PCNs and other senior forums, ensuring cancer care maintains a high profile within the Trust.
- Collaborate with Lead cancer clinician and Cancer services manager to facilitate the Trust Cancer Steering Group and other senior forums, ensuring cancer care remains prominent within the Trust.
- Ensure Divisional Directors of Nursing are kept informed of all national policy developments relating to the care of cancer patients.
- Work collaboratively with major stakeholders (Macmillan, charities, WMCA, ICB, PCNs) to ensure the delivery of quality cancer services aligns with their values and priorities.
Management / Leadership
- Work in collaboration with the Lead Cancer Clinician, Cancer Manager, Clinical Nurse Specialists, MDT leads and care groups to ensure the implementation of action plans for continuous quality improvement.
- Managerially responsible for the Macmillan Cancer Support and Information Service Manager and personalised care facilitator, providing strategic support and guidance to the service as a whole.
- Oversee the response to complaints and incidents and respond where appropriate to ensure robust systems are developed and implemented to inform and improve practice, providing written reports as required.
- Ensure risks are identified and monitored and actions are taken relevant to the cancer patient journey and the cancer nursing workforce.
- Participate in annual PDRs in collaboration with CNS leads and matrons for cancer specialist nursing staff where appropriate.
- Work with the Director of Nursing to undertake workforce planning in the nursing area within cancer services.
- Identify and develop business case opportunities as appropriate.
- Be a member of internal and external steering groups as appropriate.
Communication and Patient Involvement
- Actively contribute to and engage in the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES), collaborating with the Head of Patient Experience, working groups, quality assurance audits and patient representative groups to ensure the views of patients are reflected in the delivery of cancer care.
- Develop and lead on the Trust's response to the NCPES, developing action plans and new ways of working.
- Lead the development of information for patients with cancer and their carers in accordance with the Trust's information strategy.
- Collaborate with the Trust's Head of Communications to ensure the information needs of cancer patients are identified and addressed.
- Support the development and implementation of a strategy to ensure that all staff have training and skills in communicating with cancer patients.
- In conjunction with matrons, where appropriate, supervise and ensure a consistent approach to cancer nursing across all areas covered, through collaborative working and the development of shared procedures and guidelines, supervising the auditing of practice and development of action plans where required.
- Work with community and volunteer providers to ensure psychological support for all patients is central to all cancer care.
- Collect, collate and regularly report accurate data against the Personalised Care agenda to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of interventions and achieve best practice.
- Ensure active participation of teams in surveys, audit and research in support of service improvement.
- Promote and disseminate relevant best practice, research and audit findings to support clinical practice.
- Actively contribute to the design and implementation of effective patient care pathways and models of care to ensure safe and effective services and optimum use of all available resources.
- Seek external financial grants and ensure effective use of resources.
Research and Education
- Work with the West Midlands Cancer Alliance and other key stakeholders to develop and implement an integrated programme of education in cancer care, advising on and developing educational opportunities that facilitate multi‑professional team skills and knowledge of clinical practice with reference to the ACCEND programme.
- Ensure professional development and education reflect and align to nationally agreed education and competency frameworks.
- Encourage and facilitate evidence‑based practice in the care of cancer patients, ensuring relevant information and examples of good practice are disseminated, maintaining a skilled cancer nursing and AHP workforce.
- In collaboration with the Director of Nursing, Deputy Director of Nursing and Education and Workforce Lead, develop good relationships with local higher education establishments to promote the development of educational and research projects, especially in relation to cancer nursing.
- Teach formally and informally across the Trust’s network and nationally, including organising network and national conferences.
- Create a research and professional development environment that promotes and encourages high‑quality clinical research activity, thereby increasing the opportunity for patients to participate in and benefit from well‑designed research.
- Enable staff to maximise their clinical skills and support analytical thinking to increase the potential for research.
- Develop the skills of generalist nurses and other health professionals, including the medical workforce, to provide a high standard of care for patients within their specialty.
- Assist in the delivery of relevant education programmes for clinical and non‑clinical staff and raise awareness amongst healthcare staff of the educational needs of all people affected by cancer, including initiatives such as the Health and Well Being Programme and ongoing Living with and Beyond Cancer directives.
- Be aware of and adhere to local Trust policies and protocols.
- Act as a professional resource to colleagues.
- Participate in personal objective setting and review, including the creation of a personal development plan and the Trust’s appraisal process.
This advert closes on Wednesday 6 May 2026.
