Go back County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Cancer Pathway Coordinator
The closing date is 05 September 2025
An exciting opportunity for someone who has experience inmanaging cancer patient pathways, either as part of a cancer services team oranother speciality to join our team in Cancer Services.
This post is full time for 37.5 hours and will be based at UniversityHospital of North Durham but you may be required to work on-site at DarlingtonMemorial Hospital during training and to cover for team members, possibly oneday a week.
Our team is currently working under Agileworking agreements, working a mix of on-site and remotely from their home baseand once fully trained the post holder will also adopt this working pattern.
Main duties of the job
Your primary responsibilities will be to track and navigatecancer patients through their pathway to ensure that they are diagnosed andtreated within relevant timescales. Youwill ensure effective co-ordination of pathways for patients with suspected ordiagnosed cancer and that information is recorded accurately for Cancer WaitingTimes targets. You will ensure that a patient's journey is seamless and willmake a valuable contribution to the improvement of both quality and experience.
You will provide comprehensive administrativesupport for Cancer Site-Specific MDT meetings, collating lists of patients tobe discussed and collecting information required. You will need to work totight deadlines so that MDT members are notified in advance and can prepare fortheir role in the meeting. Confidence to control the use of video conferencingsystems and to record clinical decisions live in the MDT meetings is essentialso you will be confident in your knowledge and spelling of medical terminology.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks
We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents
Over reliance onAI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances ofsuccess
For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.
From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two yearsof experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to considersponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria andhave a current visa expiring within 3 months)
Job responsibilities
Our team ensures that patients are tracked through theirpathway, we monitor and escalate with core services such as Radiology,Pathology, Chemotherapy, Booking and Waiting List staff so excellentinterpersonal and communication skills will be vital.
Identify patients who may breach waiting time targets andtake appropriate action to escalate this to Cancer Services Management team andappropriate Service Managers responsible for the area where the delay in thepatients pathway is apparent. The escalation policy should be used tofacilitate appropriate escalation at each point in the patient journey.
Utilise Trust information systems for the recording of allcancer patients who come into the Trust, liaising with departments providingcare and core services to ensure that planned patient treatment progressessmoothly and in a timely manner.
Actively monitor waiting times for individual cancerpatients to ensure targets are not breached by negotiating patient managementarrangements with responsible staff.
Be responsible for escalation of any cancer pathway whichmay breach the cancer waiting times standards
Collect data relating to diagnosed cancer patients andprepare statistical reports.
Ensure clinical teams understand and apply national datadefinitions and are able to use the Trusts cancer information systems.
Coordinate service improvement to streamline the patientjourney and improve the quality of patient care.
Coordinate complex MDT meetings in accordance with qualitystandards.
Be responsible for the provision of direct linemanagement and supervision of Cancer Pathway Support Officer and Cancer PathwayAssistants.
Person Specification
Special Skills and Knowledge
* Ability to take live and accurate summary decisions at clinical meetings where the decisions are projected live to other attendees.
* Sound knowledge of medical terminology, particularly relating to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.
* Sound knowledge of the Cancer Waiting Times targets and their application to the
* management of patient pathways across all tumour sites
* Confidence to work and communicate with staff at all levels in the organisation and to challenge performance against targets where appropriate.
* Ability to work independently without direct supervision.
* Ability to work effectively as a member of several team
* Computer literacy ability to use a wide variety of systems.
* Demonstrate ability to work to specific deadlines.
* Demonstrate the ability to solve problems and take appropriate action.
* Ability to organise and prioritise own workload and that of a small team.
* Ability to contribute to the improvement of patient pathways through use of service improvement techniques.
* Ability to follow policy and procedure guidance and to make a proactive contribution to the development of these
* Knowledge of appropriate legislation with regards to sharing patient and staff data and protecting confidentiality
Qualifications
* GCSEs grade A-C (or 9-4) in English and Maths or equivalent qualifications e.g. Level 2 in either/or Functional Skills/BTEC/City & Guilds/NVQ/Key Skills
* NVQ 3 / 4 or equivalent experience in a relevant area, e.g., Business
* Secretarial / Administrative training and experience
* Qualified to Level 4 NVQ or above
Experience
* Previous administrative experience within the NHS
* Previous experience of working in the NHS in a role relating to cancer patient pathways
* Previous experience of supervising staff
* Previous experience of training / coaching
Special Requirements
* Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post
* Ability to input data for significant periods of time using a VDU
* Ability to concentrate on tasks whilst managing frequent interruptions and making appropriate adjustments to priorities
* Ability to cope with exposure to details regarding patients that may be distressing
* Professional appearance and demeanour
* Positive attitude towards change
* Flexible and adaptable
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.
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
£27,485 to £30,162 a yearper annum pro rata
#J-18808-Ljbffr