Cancer Pathway Support Officer

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Cancer Services team at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust as a Cancer Pathway Support Officer. This part-time position (30 hours per week) will be based at either Darlington or Durham Hospital.

As a key member of the Cancer Pathway team, you will work closely with Cancer Pathway Coordinators, clinicians and multidisciplinary teams. You will help ensure cancer pathways are effectively monitored, patient information is accurately recorded, and multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings are delivered efficiently. This is a developmental role offering the opportunity to gain specialist knowledge of cancer pathways, MDT processes and cancer data management.

With training and support, you will develop the skills required to take responsibility for allocated MDT meetings and play an increasingly important role in supporting cancer services across the Trust. If you are a proactive team player with excellent communication, organisational and IT skills, and you are looking for a rewarding role where your work directly supports patient care and outcomes, we would love to hear from you. Please note this is a non-patient facing role.

Our team currently operates under Agile Working arrangements, providing a blend of on-site and remote working from home. Once fully trained and competent in the role, it is expected that the post holder will also adopt this working pattern.

Main duties of the job

• Supporting the tracking and monitoring of patients on suspected and diagnosed cancer pathways, ensuring key milestones and deadlines are met.
• Collecting, validating and maintaining accurate patient and cancer pathway data across a range of systems to support performance reporting and service delivery.
• Identifying potential pathway delays and escalating concerns to the Cancer Pathway Coordinator to help prevent breaches of national targets.
• Providing administrative support to multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, including preparing documentation, recording outcomes in real time and ensuring decisions are accurately captured and distributed.
• Liaising with clinical teams and partner organisations to support patient referrals, investigations and treatment planning across cancer services.
• Assisting with data quality checks, breach analysis and reporting to ensure information is accurate, complete and fit for national reporting requirements.
• Uploading and maintaining patient documentation within electronic patient record systems and supporting compliance with information governance standards.
• Developing specialist knowledge of cancer pathways and MDT processes, with the opportunity to progress towards independently supporting allocated MDT meetings following training and competency assessment.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues across the Trust.

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.

Job responsibilities

As a Cancer Pathway Support Officer, you will provide essential administrative and data management support to the Cancer Services team, helping to ensure patients progress through their cancer pathway safely and within national waiting time standards. You will work closely with Cancer Pathway Coordinators, clinicians and multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) to track patient journeys, manage cancer pathway information and support MDT meetings.

The role involves monitoring patient pathways, updating cancer databases, validating information from multiple systems, and identifying any delays that may impact treatment timelines. You will also support MDT meetings by preparing documentation, recording outcomes and ensuring decisions are accurately communicated and documented.

A key part of the role is working proactively with clinical and administrative colleagues to maintain high-quality data, support national cancer performance targets and help ensure patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment. The post also offers the opportunity to develop specialist knowledge and skills in cancer pathway management, with training to take on responsibility for supporting and eventually independently managing allocated MDT meetings.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is highly organised, has strong attention to detail, enjoys working with data and systems, and is committed to supporting high-quality patient care behind the scenes.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience in an administrative / secretarial role.
• Previous experience of working in the NHS.

Qualifications

• GCSE English and Mathematics grades A-C or equivalent qualification, e.g., Level 2 functional skills either as separate subjects or part of NVQ.
• Secretarial / Administrative training and / or experience NVQ 3 / 4 in business administration or equivalent experience/qualification.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Ability to take accurate notes and summarise actions appropriately at meetings.
• Ability to work effectively with a low level of direct supervision.
• Ability to work effectively as a member of several teams.
• Awareness for the need for confidentiality at all times.
• Computer literacy ability to use a wide variety of systems.
• Demonstrate ability to work to specific deadlines.
• Knowledge of appropriate legislation with regards to sharing patient and staff data and protecting confidentiality.
• Awareness of the Cancer Waiting Times targets and their application to the management of patient pathways.
• Ability to contribute to the improvement of patient pathways.
• Experience/training in NHS hospital systems.

Special Requirements

• Ability to input data for significant periods of time using a VDU.
• Ability to transport 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 the trust sites as required.
• Positive attitude towards change.

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.