Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the North Lancashire and South Cumbria Breast Screening Programme as an Improving Uptake Officer. This is a permanent, full-time position.

Improving Uptake Officers will focus on increasing attendance at breast screening appointments by working with GP practices that have lower screening uptake and proactively engage with eligible women to encourage participation and help reduce barriers to screening.

By increasing screening uptake, this will potentially lead to

• Earlier diagnosis of breast cancer.
• More effective treatment outcomes.
• Improved survival rates and lives saved.

Essential Criteria

• A recognised computer qualification or equivalent experience, with proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 applications, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience of working collaboratively with a wide range of individuals and organisations. 
• Demonstrable experience of supporting or managing projects involving professionals and service users.
• Excellent planning, organisational and time management skills. 
• Highly developed communication, negotiation and influencing skills. 
• A flexible approach to working hours and the ability to travel across North Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The role will involve travel to GP Practices and screening locations in Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Lancaster, Morecambe, Blackpool, and the mobile breast screening unit, which visits Preston and various locations along the Fylde Coast.

Main duties of the job

• Building effective relationships with GP practices and healthcare professionals to plan and deliver promotional activities and awareness events, with particular focus on engaging underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
• Educating women about breast awareness and the benefits of breast screening by providing accurate, accessible and evidence-based information.
• Contacting women receiving their first breast screening invitation through supportive telephone conversations, answering questions, addressing concerns and providing reassurance to encourage attendance.
• Implementing and monitoring communication initiatives across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
• Developing and delivering evidence-based interventions designed to improve screening uptake and reduce health inequalities.
• Producing regular feedback reports, evaluations and recommendations for commissioners, demonstrating outcomes and identifying opportunities for service improvement.
• Developing and implementing project and sustainability plans.
• Preparing interim and annual reports outlining project progress, evaluation findings, service developments and improvements implemented as a result of recommendations.
• Monitoring and reporting agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including:
  • Achievement of agreed project milestones.
  • Uptake and non-attendance data analysed by age, clinic, ethnicity, postcode and underserved population groups.
  • The effectiveness of interventions designed to increase breast screening attendance.

Working for our organisation

We operate from three main hospitals-Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI), and Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) in Kendal, as well as a number of community healthcare premises including Millom Hospital and GP Practice, Queen Victoria Hospital in Morecambe, and Ulverston Community Health Centre. 

FGH and the RLI have a range of General Hospital services, with full Emergency Departments, Critical/Coronary Care units and various Consultant-led services. 

WGH provides a range of General Hospital services, together with an Urgent Treatment Centre, that can help with a range of non-life threatening conditions such as broken bones and minor illnesses. 

All three main hospitals provide a range of planned care including outpatients, diagnostics, therapies, day case and inpatient surgery. In addition, a range of local outreach services and diagnostics are provided from community facilities across Morecambe Bay.