About this role
Job summary
This post may be offered as a training opportunity under Annex 21 AfC Terms & Conditions, subject to experience, competency and suitability.
The Assistant lead SACT Nurse will play a key leadership, clinical, and educational role within the systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) service. Working closely with the Lead SACT Nurse and Chemotherapy Lead Consultant, the post-holder will ensure the delivery of safe, evidence-based, high-quality SACT care across inpatient, day-case, and ambulatory settings.
The role contributes to governance and quality improvement, and provides clinical expertise in the administration of SACT, including patient assessment, toxicity recognition, initial management and onward referral.
The Assistant Lead SACT Nurse will act as a role model, support the development of nursing staff, facilitate SACT training and assessment, and uphold professional, national, and Trust standards relating to SACT services.
The Assistant Lead SACT Nurse is expected to work alongside colleagues to administer SACT across all SACT administration areas within MWL as part of their regular clinical duties.
Main duties of the job
KEY DUTIES
As a Specialist Nurse you will practice under the direction of the Lead SACT Nurse.
Provide specialist advice and clinical practice to both colleagues and patients within the SACT service.
Provide specialist education and training to others including ward staff through support, formal education, practice development, assessment, supervision and role modelling.
Work collaboratively and co-operatively to support clinical colleagues to develop services and high quality of care delivered.
Support the lead SACT nurse to develop SACT services.
Support senior team to achieve compliance with any specific regulations for example: Quality Surveillance Programme, drug administration, record keeping and data collection within own area of work.
Please see attached Job Description for full details.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018 Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal) National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.
Job description Job responsibilities
CLINICAL AND PROFESSIONAL
Accountable for administration and custody of medicines according to the Trust Policy,
including, the safe administration of oral, subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous SACT.
Provide a seamless, high-quality service from referral through to assessment, diagnosis,
treatment and review, referring to other specialists as required
Demonstrate safe, appropriate practice and specialist nursing advice using up to date
knowledge and evidence.
Make person centred, evidence-based judgements in partnership with others involved in the care process ensuring high quality care
Support the Lead SACT Nurse in ensuring safe, effective SACT delivery across oncology and haematology settings. Undertake comprehensive holistic patient toxicity assessments, and ongoing evaluation of care needs in addition to administering SACT to maintain own competence Undertake UKONS telephone triage and give appropriate evidence based clinical advice and/or direct patients to an appropriate place of assessment and care. Provide education and assessment in SACT administration, including venepuncture, cannulation, and management of central venous access devices (e.g., PICC and TIVAD), including extravasation. Recognise, support and manage treatmentrelated toxicities, escalating to medical/ specialist nursing teams appropriately following MWL pathways. Work autonomously within professional guidelines, acting as a patient advocate at all times. Deliver difficult or sensitive information to patients and families with compassion and professionalism. Support the safe introduction of new SACT regimens and technologies into clinical practice. In keeping with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct and Standards of Proficiency for Nurse and Midwife Prescribers, keep up to date with best practice in relation to the management of conditions within his/her specialist area. Provide visible clinical leadership across SACT areas to support safe daily operations. Deputise for the Lead SACT Nurse during periods of absence within the scope of band 6 remit and capabilities by ensuring established projects and work programmes continue to move forward. Liaise with the Clinical Lead for SACT Services and other members of the senior Cancer Management and Clinical teams for advice and support in the absence of the Lead SACT Nurse. Contribute to the review of existing operational policies, pathways, and protocols and cascade information to all members of the SACT MDT. Participate in multidisciplinary, Trust, and network meetings related to SACT services. Deputise for the Lead SACT Nurse when required to ensure Clatterbridge Cancer Centre Initiatives are reviewed and disseminated to the MWL Cancer Servies. Establishing and maintaining professional working relationships with the Lead SACT Nurses (or equivalent) of neighbouring Trusts within the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Alliance. Promote patient & public involvement and embed feedback into service improvements. Support incident investigation, complaints responses, and development of resulting action plans. Maintain excellent communication with patients, carers, staff, and wider MDTs. Engage in continual personal and professional development, including annual appraisal Participate in mandatory and rolespecific training programmes. Demonstrate commitment to the Trusts values, policies, and governance standards. Promote risk management, ensuring the reporting mechanisms for clinical risk, incidents, and near misses are used effectively. Contribute to and support the implementation of safety measures and changes in practice that arise from the learning generated following incidents. Recognise signs of stress and the emotional impact of care in in self and others and take appropriate action, escalating to line manager as required. Utilise opportunities to support on-going professional development by undertaking delegated tasks for your line manager
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
Contribute to the maintenance of an up-to-date SACT register of staff competent to administer SACT across MWL.
Ensure ESR competencies are up to date following staff annual reaccreditation.
Ensure the up-to-date and safe storage of annual reaccreditation paper/ electronic records.
Support the roll out and on boarding of The UKONS Electronic Passport across MWL for all SACT trained staff.
Maintenance of training logs following formal and informal teaching.
Assist in the writing and circulation of pertinent reports/ meeting minutes/ action logs as directed by the Lead SACT Nurse
Contribute to the maintenance of the Extravasation Database to ensure ease of data retrieval for quarterly QSP reporting.
TEACHING AND TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
Act as a specialist educational resource for clinical staff, patients, carers and relevant external agencies requiring advice or support on SACTrelated issues.
Support the coordination and delivery of SACT training programmes for clinical staff across the organisation, including bespoke, group, and 1:1 sessions. Ensure SACT delivery areas can access appropriate teaching, support and guidance, in accordance with the clinical area/departmental needs to agreed levels of skill and competence.
Ensure staff and patients where applicable are fully trained and assessed in using the range of equipment, consumable products associated with SACT administration.
Contribute to developing training materials, presentations, policies, and educational tools under the direction of the Lead SACT Nurse. Support competencybased training in clinical skills required for SACT delivery. Assess clinical competencies in line with established SACT frameworks, devise bespoke learning action plans for staff who are not meeting the required level of competence and escalate concerns appropriately to the Lead SACT Nurse and Unit/Ward Manager.
RESEARCH AND AUDIT
Support established audit, research, service evaluation and quality improvement activities within SACT services. Assist in developing, monitoring, and evaluating clinical standards, protocols, and guidelines. Ensure documentation standardselectronic and writtenmeet Trust and professional requirements. Support evidencebased practice and contribute to translating research/ audit findings into clinical care, disseminating relevant information to clinical staff. Provide and accept constructive feedback and use this to reflect on your own practice
Person Specification
Our Values Essential
We are Kind We are Open We are Inclusive
Qualifications Essential
First Level Registered Nurse UKONS SACT Passport (Annex 21) Teaching/ Mentoring/ Assessors Course/ Module
Desirable
Level 6 or 7 post registration study in in Haematology/ Oncology or SACT related subject Leadership Qualification Intermediate/ Advanced Communication Skills
Experience Essential
Significant post registration experience in haematology/ oncology/ SACT and Specialist clinical knowledge across a range of procedures including current SACT assessment and administration, including and up-to-date annual SACT re accreditation. (Annex 21) Knowledge of local and national policy/guidelines relating to SACT Ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate clinical care of patients receiving SACT with associated toxicities. UKONS Triage Training and Supporting Competency Assessment (Annex 21) Leadership experience and experience of deputising for senior staff Teaching Experience Experience of using electronic SACT administration Systems Up to date knowledge of current professional and clinical practice issues pertinent to SACT Experience of mentoring learners, competency assessment and supporting junior staff Commitment to independent learning and own professional development
Desirable
Experience of Service/ Quality Improvement in clinical area. Experience of Audit Experience of clinical practice across multiple SACT settings (Day Case/ Ambulatory/ In-Patient) Involvement in professional networks, forums or groups
Skills Essential
Competent in venepuncture, cannulation, and management and troubleshooting of central venous access devices Strong understanding of SACT protocols, national standards and safety requirements Computer Literacy Strong communication and interpersonal skills to influence and support others Evidence of effective autonomous and multidisciplinary problem solving and decision making skills.
Desirable
Knowledge of SACT-related research and emerging treatments Experience of developing teaching materials or leading training sessions
Other Essential
Willingness to work across all MWL sites Flexible for working patterns and adaptable to service needs Motivated, proactive and able to work under pressure
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address St Helens Hospital
Marshalls Cross Road
St Helens
WA9 3DA
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)