Data Quality Officer

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, well-organised and motivated individual to work within our Cancer Services Department in County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. The position will be based at our office in Darlington Memorial Hospital but our staff work on an agile basis, so the opportunity to work two to three days from home may be available.

The Data Quality Officer is an integral part of the cancer services team and will work closely with the cancer site-specific multidisciplinary teams to collate and validate patient data on the Somerset Cancer Registry (SCR) system and/or associated interfaces to ensure the system holds correct and up-to-date patient data. You will play a pivotal role in supporting the department to meet its objectives in relation to the collection of data for reporting to the national cancer audits and Cancer Services Outcomes Dataset (COSD). The post holder will be responsible for the data collection of the key performance indicators associated with these mandated datasets.

Main duties of the job

• Working alongside the Cancer Services Data Quality Co-ordinator to help raise awareness of the importance of accurate and up-to-date information and undertake data audits to assess the quality of the information.
• Ensure data is collected on patients with a suspected or diagnosed cancer, ensuring information is recorded accurately.
• Collate clinical data using multiple information sources ranging from existing hospital systems, multi-disciplinary discussion documentation and external hospital notifications.
• Acknowledge and adhere to set deadlines and validation methods to ensure accurate reporting.
• Assist in the process of routinely validating the data held within the SCR system, working pro-actively with the Data Quality Co-ordinator, healthcare professionals and Cancer Pathway Co-ordinators to address and resolve data quality issues.
• Ensure data is accurately and consistently recorded to well-defined standards to enable it to be used for statistical analysis, both locally and nationally.

Job responsibilities

• Explore unusual or missing data items and liaise with Cancer Services Quality Co-ordinator over a variety of data quality issues, ensuring corrections are made as instructed.
• Have very good communication and people skills to liaise with multiple departments and levels of staff.
• Exhibit excellent organisational skills to manage workload reflecting the Trust's operational and reporting deadlines.
• Multi-task and maintain concentration levels despite interruptions.
• Ensure that the information collated and recorded accurately reflects the patient pathway, determining Trust compliance to various nationally published annual reports.
• Possess good IT skills, with experience of using Outlook, Word and Excel; experience of using hospital administration systems would be an advantage.
• Have day-to-day responsibility for the collation, entry, validation and extraction of data supported in the operational use of SCR.
• Monitor and update data set items and input missing information into the SCR patient records.
• Prior experience of working in the NHS in an administrative role, particularly in an audit related area is desirable.

This is a non-patient facing role. Please ensure you tailor your application to this post. This post will be based at Darlington Memorial Hospital but you may be required to travel to University Hospital of North Durham as and when required. Please note that all interviews will be held in person at one of our sites.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Experience of working with and analysing data.
• Computer literate with the ability to use a wide variety of systems including Microsoft office software.
• Ability to work independently but also be a good team worker.
• Demonstrate a responsible and mature approach to work and colleagues.
• Demonstrate ability to work to specific deadlines.
• Identify problems and work with the team to solve and take appropriate action.
• Organise and prioritise own workload.
• Communicate and work with a wide range of professional and administrative staff.
• Follow policy and procedure guidance and identify where change may be required.
• Knowledge of appropriate legislation regarding sharing patient and staff data and protecting confidentiality.
• Understanding of NHS Data standards and their application to the management of patient data collection.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Working knowledge and understanding of the Healthcare IT systems.

Qualifications

• GCSE English and Mathematics grades A-C or equivalent.
• Secretarial / Administrative training and/or experience.
• NVQ 3 in Business Administration or Healthcare.
• Ability to input data for significant periods of time using a VDU.
• Ability to carry files and laptops using appropriate equipment.
• Ability to concentrate on tasks whilst managing frequent interruptions.
• Ability to cope with exposure to details regarding patients that may be distressing.
• Ability and willingness to travel across trust sites as required.
• Professional appearance and demeanour.
• Positive attitude towards change.
• Flexible and adaptable; able to accommodate working from home.

Experience

• Experience in an administrative/secretarial role.
• Experience of using MS Office Software.
• Previous experience of working in the NHS.
• Possess a sound working knowledge of data collection, validation and reporting.