Macmillan Care Support Worker (FTC)

We are looking for someone to join our team as a Macmillan Haematology Support Worker. This role has been developed to support a team of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) who coordinate the care for patients with Haematology cancers including Leukaemia, Lymphoma and Myelomas during diagnosis, treatment and follow up. The role needs someone with excellent communication skills as you will need to be confident to talk to patients and call patients on the phone. You should also have the ability to work on your own initiative. Good IT skills are also an essential requirement.

This post is a great opportunity for someone who is willing to learn new skills and take on new challenges as they work alongside the Haematology Clinical Nurse specialists.

• To work closely with the nursing and medical team under direct supervision
• To provide an administrative support to the Haematology CNS’s
• To coordinate blood test bookings and appointments for Haematology patients
• To organise and contribute to the Holistic needs assessments of Haematology Patients
• To capture patient activity on relevant hospital electronic systems
• To signpost patients carers and their families to support agencies supported by the CNS team
• To ensure supplies of patient information are available for use by the CNS team, including printing and ordering information.
• To document all aspects of care coordination and service deliver

We are one of the largest hospital foundation trusts in the country, and currently touch the lives of half a million patients in the west of Berkshire every year by providing high quality acute medical and surgical services for our local communities.

Our values:

• Compassionate
• Aspirational
• Resourceful
• Excellent

The town of Reading sits on the River Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford, and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work, and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC recently rated the care provided by The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as good.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide high quality fundamental care to patients under the guidance and supervision of a Registered Practitioner in a caring, compassionate and sensitive manner.
Acting always in the patient’s best interests.

• Protecting and maintaining the patient’s privacy and dignity at all times.
• Providing individualised care for a diverse group of patients respecting personal beliefs and preferences.
• Alert the Registered Practitioner and/or Ward/ Department Manager to

any change or concern relating to the welfare of the patient in a timely manner.

Communication
1. Communicates effectively and respectfully with patients, their relatives /visitors, ward / team leaders and all members of the multi-professional team utilising both verbal and non-verbal communication methods.
2. Adapts communication methods as required for patients with sensory impairments such as hearing loss, speech difficulties, seeking support and guidance from Registered Practitioners as required.
3. Answers the telephone and assists relatives and other individuals with their enquiries in a polite and professional manner ensuring a positive impression of the organisation and self.
4. Ensures own practice complies with Data Protection/ Confidentiality/Caldicott Principles.
5. Works as an effective team member and demonstrates understanding of the role of team work in the delivery of high quality care.
6. Demonstrates understanding of the possible reasons for complaints and works in a manner which minimises such events seeking the support /guidance of the Registered Practitioner as required.
7. Demonstrates the ability to identify and report changes or concerns in relation to the patient’s wellbeing to the Registered Practitioner in a timely manner.

Clinical
1. Triage incoming calls and initiate appropriate response according to protocols and individual pathways, using good communication skills, basic clinical awareness and appropriate tools and procedures, liaising as appropriate when non routine and refer complex decisions to the team for assessment and review.
2. Provide basic telephone advice and refer on or sign-post to other sources of support
3. Coordinate the necessary assessments, appointments or investigations to fast track people back into the system if required
4. Demonstrate the ability to recognise and respond appropriately when faced with a sudden deterioration or an emergency situation, alerting the team or enabling rapid response as appropriate
5. Support information prescription delivery; this role may include printing out information prescriptions, assisting people accessing emailed information prescriptions, or offering to provide information prescriptions based on the all- cancers information pathway
6. Communicate and signpost to appropriate needs related information
7. Guide people through the use of self-assessment resources
8. Document and monitor all aspects of care coordination and service delivery, supporting data collection for audit
9. Demonstrate in practice the Macmillan Human Rights Standard for Cancer Care