Breast cancer advanced nurse practitioner, band 8a

Breast Cancer Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Band 8a

The closing date is 14 June 2026

Site: West Middlesex University Hospital, Isleworth Road

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Breast Care Team at Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust. This role focuses on supporting the effective delivery of breast services, with particular emphasis on breast pain and family history clinics.

The post holder will play a key role in ensuring appropriate use of the breast care pathway, promoting timely screening, accurate diagnosis, and efficient patient flow. The role is designed to optimise capacity within one-stop clinics for patients requiring urgent assessment, while also reducing unnecessary anxiety for individuals who do not need management on a suspected cancer pathway.

The Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) / Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) will undertake autonomous clinical assessment, diagnosis, and management of patients presenting with undifferentiated or undiagnosed conditions. This includes developing and implementing treatment plans, referring patients for appropriate investigations or specialist input, and facilitating safe and effective discharge.

In addition to clinical responsibilities, the role includes contributing to audit and research initiatives and supporting the development, review, and implementation of departmental policies, protocols and guidelines in line with national standards and best evidence.

Main duties of the job

Role Summary

The Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) / Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) will utilise advanced specialist knowledge and clinical skills to deliver autonomous, high-quality care to patients within the breast care service. The post holder will be accountable for the independent assessment, diagnosis and management of patients presenting with undifferentiated and undiagnosed conditions, including the development of appropriate treatment plans. They will also be responsible for referring patients to relevant specialties for further investigation or management, across both inpatient and outpatient settings, and for facilitating safe and effective discharge.

The successful candidate will be a registered nurse or registered healthcare professional, educated to MSc level in Advanced Clinical Practice (or equivalent), and hold independent non-medical prescribing qualifications with the NMC or an equivalent professional body. The post holder will demonstrate expert knowledge across all aspects of breast care, including advanced clinical assessment, critical decision-making and evidence-based clinical management.

This role may involve weekend working across multiple sites.

Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.

Job responsibilities

Clinical Provision & Expertise Practice

The post holder will:

• Work closely with the multidisciplinary team to facilitate the provision of high-quality care for all patients attending the Breast Units diagnostic, one-stop and family history clinics.
• Use highly developed clinical knowledge to independently assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatments and interventions for patients presenting with complex undifferentiated or undefined presentations.
• Undertake physical examination as indicated by the patient’s condition; autonomously analyse complex clinical signs and investigation results to consider differential diagnoses and diagnose conditions, initiating treatment as required.
• Request investigations such as blood, urine and other laboratory tests, electrocardiographs (ECGs), ultrasound scans, X-rays and computed tomography (CT) scans in accordance with IR(ME)R regulations and as local policy allows.

Autonomously formulates appropriate management plans for patients, formulates clinical decisions and often complex treatment plans to manage acute illness and acute episodes of chronic illness including referral, admission or discharge.

• Act as an autonomous practitioner in managing and providing advice regarding benign breast conditions.
• Maintain the safe remote surveillance of Family History and Open Access patients.
• Provide appropriate and accurate telephone advice and support to patients who have previously undergone treatment for breast cancer or who may be at increased risk of developing the disease.
• Demonstrate safe critical decision-making in the clinical decision-making process and be able to initiate appropriate and timely response to patient-reported cues.
• Act in accordance with NMC Code of Conduct and guiding documents.
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately in complex, urgent and emergency situations, including initiation and leadership of resuscitation.

Manages clinical events involving patients, often requiring unpredictable and high levels of mental and/or physical effort according to the patient’s dependency and clinical need.

• Prescribe and review medication (as an independent prescriber) for therapeutic effectiveness appropriate to patient need and in accordance with best/evidence-based practice and national and local protocols and within the role’s scope of practice and legal framework.
• Integrate both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment in patient care and management plans.
• Assess patients with mental health needs using local policy and guidelines and refer to the appropriate services.
• Communicate effectively with patients, carers, colleagues and others using appropriate communication styles, anticipating barriers to communication and ensuring patients and significant others are kept fully informed and consent to treatment.
• Act as a resource for staff, advising on local, national and Trust policy, procedures and guidelines ensuring patient safety and clinical governance.
• Demonstrate evidence of autonomous advanced practice of core capabilities across the four pillars – clinical practice, leadership, education and research – within their speciality.
• Demonstrate expert knowledge and understanding of breast cancer, benign breast diseases and associated treatments.

PLEASE SEE JOB DESCRIPTION/PERSON SPECIFICATION FOR FULL DETAILS OF THE ROLE

Person Specification

Education and qualifications

• Registered Nurse / AHP
• Master’s / Post‑registration qualification in specialty or equivalent experience of autonomous breast practice
• Educated to postgraduate level in relevant subject area
• Recognised teaching/assessing qualification
• Recognised leadership qualification or equivalent experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Non-medical Prescribing

Experience

• Experience of working with patients with breast cancers and metastatic cancer multidisciplinary team working.
• Experience of running nurse-led clinics.
• Experience of working with electronic patient records and other IT systems.

Skills and knowledge

• Experience of Living With and Beyond cancer metrics.
• Strong commitment to improving patient services with a clear focus on achieving performance goals.
• Good time management skills, with the ability to meet deadlines and work effectively under pressure.
• Research/audit skills.
• Proven ability to effectively manage change.
• An understanding of NHS, Cancer Strategy and Trust performance targets.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

£57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum plus HCAS

About us

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites – Chelsea & Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital – along with award-winning clinics across North West London.

Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us ‘Good’ in safety, effectiveness, care and responsiveness, and ‘Outstanding’ in leadership and resource use.

We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea & Westminster and an £80m ambulatory diagnostic centre at West Middlesex.

We are committed to equal opportunities and believe that diversity drives innovation and excellence. As part of our dedication to equity, we actively welcome applications from individuals from the global majority, veterans and under‑represented communities. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that diverse teams bring and are committed to creating an environment where all voices are heard, respected and empowered to succeed.