Job overview
Are you passionate about making a real difference in people’s lives? Join us as a Lung Navigator and become a vital part of a dynamic, patient-centred team dedicated to transforming the cancer care journey. This maternity cover role offers a rare opportunity to use your communication, coordination, and empathy skills to support patients and families facing the uncertainty of a suspected lung cancer diagnosis.
As the key point of contact for patients, carers, and healthcare professionals, you’ll guide individuals through every step of the 62-day cancer pathway—from initial referral to diagnosis. You’ll work side-by-side with FDS nurses, CNS's, and clinicians, ensuring each patient feels informed, reassured, and empowered throughout the process. Your role is essential in providing clarity, comfort, and timely support when it matters most.
From arranging investigations and booking appointments to liaising with multidisciplinary teams and handling sensitive queries, you’ll play a pivotal part in achieving swift diagnoses and clear communications, helping patients and families navigate a challenging time with confidence and care.
If you thrive on building trust, making a tangible impact, and being the compassionate voice that patients and families rely on, we would love to hear from you. Take this chance to develop your skills, work with an inspiring team, and contribute to life-changing healthcare outcomes.
Please note: This role does not meet the minimum criteria for visa sponsorship under the current UK immigration rules, which set specific salary and skill thresholds. As such, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this post. Applicants will therefore need to already have the right to work in the UK to be considered. We include this information at the outset to provide clarity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for applicants.
If you are applying using a Graduate visa as your right to work, you must have a minimum of 18 months remaining on your visa at time of application.
Main duties of the job
Communication
1. To act as a centralised point of contact for patients, receiving triaging and responding totelephone and written queries, liaising and escalating to the FDS nurses for complex questions and concerns.
2. Provide explanations of procedures and processes to patients and their families regarding the pathway, verbally and by sending out relevant trust leaflets and instruction packs where appropriate.
3. Demonstrate high levels of empathy, sensitivity, calm and professionalism in all communications with patients and their families, recognising where referral to the FDS nurses for advice and support would be beneficial.
4. Be aware of the potential for emotional, psychological and physical distress and symptoms that the patient may be experiencing, liaise and escalate to the FDS nurses or clinicians as appropriate.
5. Demonstrate effective influencing and persuasive skills with professional colleagues and patients/carers.
6. In partnership with the FDS nurses, establish robust communication channels with other service providers, including the Trust, primary care and specialist centres.
7. Ensure timely communication is maintained with the GP and other care providers as required.
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
Candidate Pack
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Service Delivery and Improvement
8. Alerts the FDS nurse and Service Manager’s when there are delays and patients are at risk of breaching
9. Has a full understanding of Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) & Trust policies and processes.
10. Daily monitoring of patient pathway to reduce unnecessary delays and complications.
11. To ensure the patient referral is recorded on the Trust systems, including communicating fully with cancer services, MDT, nursing and clinical teams to ensure a patient is added on to Somerset for ongoing tracking purposes.
12. Work closely with the administrative services (including booking team), diagnostic services and clinical team to ensure next actions are regularly updated and completed. Work with the 2-week rule booking team to ensure all patients receive an appointment within 7 days
13. Assist in organising appointments, booking scans etc. to mitigate delays in the patient pathway.
14. Informs the FDS nurse (or respiratory consultant in their absence) of patients who have not attended or declined investigations.
15. Support continuous re-evaluation of the service to improve beyond the 28-day pathway.
16. Using initiative and judgement to raise issues with Line Manager or members of the Teams.
People Management and Development
17. To work on own initiative, with minimum direct supervision, for the tracking of all patients referred into the service with suspected cancer, in order to ensure a timely diagnostic and treatment process and accurate entry of data.
18. Be flexible and responsive in approach to work, regularly reprioritising workload in response to new requests or changes in a patient pathway.
19. Demonstrate effective management of time and resources with regards to the role, and within the wider team resources.
20. Be an effective team player, liaising and responding to others with clarity and accuracy.
21. Respond to unpredictable requests from the Trust, ICS, cancer alliance and regional team to provide information regarding patient pathways and ways of improving this.
22. To contribute to the development of the role by identifying and proposing ways in which the service could better support pathways.
23. Work closely and schedule regular meetings with the FDS nurses and wider clinical team to coordinate individual patient pathways and to improve pathways.
24. Demonstrates own work practices to other staff members to ensure service continuity.
25. Be responsible for day-to-day office/administrative functions, scheduling of calendar activities, cover for the service during A/L absence, and any other administrative function as deemedappropriate.
26. Support Trust initiatives to ensure efficient and effective use of resources to maximise utilisation of resources, minimise duplication and variation, and ensure minimal wastage.
Patient Care Delivery
27. Ensure patients mutually agree the date and time of their appointment within the set time frame, to support compliance with national targets.
28. To liaise with clinicians, specialist nurses and MDT to ensure relevant information is available for discussion at Triage meetings, including radiology or pathology results.
29. Provide information in relation to the FDS pathway to support divisional projects that contribute to service improvements aimed to ensure that the patient is central to the delivery of high-quality patient care
Learning and Development
30. Attend mandatory training updates as required.
31. Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development process.
32. Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales.
33. Identify own learning needs and jointly plan training requirements with your line manager
34. Participate in the Trust’s appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service.
This job description is an outline of the role and responsibilities. From time to time due to the needs of the service, we may ask you to flexibly undertake other duties that are consistent with your role and banding, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the department and the organisation.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
35. GCSE A-C and or Educated to NVQ level 2/3 or equivalent level of experience
Desirable criteria
36. Sage & Thyme or other communication skills course
Experience
Essential criteria
37. Minimum 1 year administrative experience
Desirable criteria
38. Experience with cancer pathways
39. Experience working with MDT
Knowledge
Essential criteria
40. Knowledge of NHS cancer waiting times targets
41. Good understanding of FDS framework
42. Knowledge of NHS systems including EPR and the Somerset Cancer Registry
Skills
Essential criteria
43. Excellent organisational skills
44. Excellent communication skills both verbally and electronically
45. Flexible and adaptable approach to work with the willingness to learn and develop the role
46. Ability to use own initiative
47. Able to deal with patients and their relatives in a diplomatic and sensitive manner
Desirable criteria
48. Resilience, Enthusiasm, Motivation
49. Reliability and good time keeping
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Essential criteria
50. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
51. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role)
Employer certification / accreditation badges