Detailed job description and main responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The medical establishment provides a £12M inpatient facility which opened in June 2014. The Palatine Ward consists of 31 individual en-suite rooms, 12 of which have HEPA filtration. The ward also houses Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) patients who are aged between 16 and 24 as part of the Young Oncology Unit. The Palatine Ward is co-located with the Haematology and Transplant Day Unit (HTDU) which was built in 2008 to expand the department’s ambulatory facilities. The HTDU houses a dedicated outpatient clinic space with 5 consulting rooms, day care facilities with 4 individual rooms, 8 treatment chairs, 2 beds and an apheresis suite.

A separate ambulatory care facility was opened in 2018 and has 8 treatment spaces for patients undergoing chemotherapy, supportive therapies, and stem cell transplantation.

A further 4 bed inpatient unit was opened in 2021 to provide additional capacity and support expansion with ambulatory care provision. When required, patients who are undergoing less intensive therapies may be managed on Oncology wards.

Emergency admissions are assessed on the Acute Admissions Unit (AAU) which is staffed by consultants, resident medical staff and advanced care practitioners (ACPs).

The Haematology department works closely with colleagues in Clinical and Medical Oncology who run the lymphoma service and also collorbate with Haematology departments in the South Sector of the GMCCN.

Additionally, the Haematology team are supported by dedicated Haematology Pharmacists, Operational Managers and Quality Managers. The Clinical Research Team supports clinical trial activity for the department across all disease areas. Currently the team comprises 13 administration staff, 9 nursing staff and 1 research practitioner.

Diagnostic Haematology service

Diagnostic services on the Christie Site are provided by The Christie Pathology Partnership (CPP); a joint venture which brings together brings together the clinical expertise of the Christie NHS Foundation Trust (rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission in 2017) and Synlab UK (the UK division of one of the largest providers of laboratory services in Europe).

Ambulatory care

In recent years there has been a shift towards administration of complex cytotoxic and supportive medications in an ambulatory setting which traditionally would have been administered in an inpatient setting. Palatine Ambulatory care (AC) at The Christie has been introduced to facilitate the management of patients having a specified range of haematological and Teenage and Young adult (TYA) high dose chemotherapy, transplant and CART regimens previously managed on an in-patient basis. The aim is to improve patient experience and reduce pressure on in-patient beds.

Stem Cell Transplantation

The Christie Stem Cell Transplant Program was established in 1982 since when it has performed over 2900 procedures (autologous, allogeneic and alternate donor). In recent years the department undertakes between 120 and 160 procedures annually for patients with haematological malignancies. The department has been fully JACIE accredited since 2009. In 2017, the Christie was selected as the second donor centre outside London by Anthony Nolan and in 2018, was selected as one of 7 first wave centres nationally for delivery of CAR-T therapies.

CAR-T therapy

In 2018 the program was accredited as one of 7 UK phase 1 treatment centres for delivery of CAR-T therapy. Advanced cellular therapies (CAR-T, tumour infiltrating lymphocytes) have been used at the Christie for over 10 years as part of clinical trials and we will be treating the first standard of care patients for lymphoma and leukaemia in 2019. CAR-T activity for both haematological and solid tumours is anticipated to grow significantly over the next few years. The Trust has supported a comprehensive business case to support the delivery of this service. As well as delivery of routinely commissioned therapies, the Christie has a strong research program for development and delivery of novel treatments in clinical trials. In 2018, the Christie was awarded £6.9m from Innovate UK (one of 3 successful awards in the UK) to support the iMATCH program which is a Christie led collaboration between 3 NHS Trusts, University of Manchester and 7 industry partners to support the development of advanced therapies for the region. This is part of a UK wide network of 5 Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres which will increase the ability of the NHS to deliver these state of the art treatments.

Research, Audit and Quality Improvement

The post holder will develop knowledge of research governance, clinical governance, research ethics, and work within and comply with the principles of Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP). They will work to support clinical audits, report results and where necessary, to implement change. They may be required to disseminate relevant research findings to colleagues and members of the health professions via presentation and publication. They will work within and contribute to the Trust’s governance processes and framework.

Educational Opportunities

There is a wide range of educational opportunities available and educational support and career development planning will be supported. The hospital has a Medical Library staffed by professional librarians offering a range of services including a modern journal collection, extensive book library and online search facilities. The post holder will be expected to consider opportunities for career development through participation in departmental audit/service evaluation projects.

Continuing Professional Development

The Trust supports the requirements for continuing professional development (CPD) as laid down by the GMC and surgical colleges and is committed to providing time and financial support for these activities.

Role Planning

Please note that this is an example job plan and may be subject to change

On call Commitments

This role may require participation on the Haematology middle grade on call rota. However, this is dependent on postholder experience and capabilities. The rota ranges between 1:6 and 1:8 frequency.  

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Abbreviations for Methods of Assessment:

AF – Application Form

I – Interview

R – References

CE – Certification Evidence