Here at The Dudley Group, our patients and staff are at the heart of all we do, to offer a high quality patient experience. We are privileged to have a team of band 4 cancer care navigators within our site specific cancer teams.
Once a patient has been referred on a Rapid Access (RA) pathway for cancer, their care will be coordinated by the team’s cancer navigators and multidisciplinary team (MDT) coordinators. Care coordination is not a one person role, job or responsibility. It’s about joining up services, coordination, providing information and improving communication between care givers, treatment providers and their families, to create a seamless patient experience.
The purpose of this role is to complement the existing MDT and support patients through the diagnostic pathway and treatment pathways, if a cancer is confirmed and follow up.
The cancer care navigator role provides patients and their families who are on these pathways a point of contact for support. All patients referred via this pathway will be given an information leaflet explaining the RA process and the cancer care navigator role in their care. Waiting for appointments, investigations and treatments can be stressful for patients. These roles are here to support our patients through this RA process.
If a patient is on a RA pathway and diagnosed with cancer, the cancer care coordinator will be a point of contact for the following:
- To liaise and alert the clinical team if required.
- To chase scan appointments, coordinate results, appointments and queries related to these aspects.
- Signposting to support services.
- As part of the wider clinical team and MDT to support patients and their families with the elements of a person centred approach to their care.
- Implement the elements of person centred care.
- Complete Holistic Needs Assessment and signposting.
- Treatment summary documentation.
Please contact The Living with and Beyond Cancer team who will allocate your call to the appropriate cancer care navigator:
01384456111 EXTENTION 5315
dgft.lwbcteam@nhs.net
