University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Patient Support Specialist Therapeutic Radiographer
The closing date is 19 November 2026

Job summary
To provide clinical and operational leadership for the Patient Support and Review Service, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and patient-centred care throughout the radiotherapy pathway. The postholder will coordinate the day-to-day staffing and operational delivery of the service, support the assessment and management of patients experiencing treatment-related side effects and longer-term consequences of radiotherapy, and facilitate timely access to appropriate clinical review and onward referral.

The postholder will provide specialist radiographic advice and support to patients and the wider multidisciplinary team, contribute to the development and continuous improvement of patient support pathways, and ensure that care is delivered in accordance with relevant clinical guidelines, governance requirements and professional standards. They will also support the development of staff, promote evidence-based practice and contribute to the ongoing development of the service to improve patient experience and outcomes.

Provide cover for Late Effects clinics during periods of planned or unplanned absence, ensuring continuity of service delivery and timely patient reviews.

Please note that applications from temporary workers who have been engaged with the Trust for a minimum of 3 months are welcome.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist radiographic assessment, advice and support to patients experiencing acute and late effects of radiotherapy, identifying clinical concerns and facilitating appropriate management, intervention or onward referral.
• Undertake patient reviews within the agreed scope of practice, professional competencies and clinical protocols, recognising and escalating complex or deteriorating patients appropriately.
• Manage the day-to-day staffing arrangements for the Patient Review Service, ensuring appropriate clinical cover is in place to meet service requirements.
• Coordinate staff allocation, taking account of patient demand, clinical priorities, staff availability, competencies and skill mix.
• Respond to unplanned staff absence and other changes in staffing capacity, identifying and implementing appropriate contingency arrangements.
• Identify and escalate issues that may affect the delivery of timely patient reviews, patient safety or continuity of care.
• Provide cover for Late Effects clinics during periods of planned or unplanned absence, ensuring continuity of service delivery and timely patient reviews.

About us
We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Details
Date posted: 06 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 216-LH-DB8346724
Job locations: Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, PL6 8DH, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day patient support workload efficiently according to the needs of the patients, ensuring an efficient smooth-running service.
• Be responsible for the daily running of the patient support services ensuring appropriate bookings and to arrange cover when clinical staff absent for review clinics
• To manage own caseload, organise own patient list and manage an element of unpredictable workload alongside the wider support service workload.
• To organize and support medical staff with treatment review.
• Review patients with Radiotherapy treatment toxicities autonomously, giving advice and treatment as required, administering pharmaceutical products under departmental protocols.
• Provide cover for Late Effects Lead clinics during periods of planned or unplanned absence, ensuring continuity of service delivery and timely patient reviews.
• Advise other Health Care Professionals to ensure skin care protocols are implemented by those staff i.e. wards staff and community nurses
• Provide effective and safe patient management encompassing all patients needs, using specialist knowledge of treatment side effects, skin reactions and their management.
• Take responsibility for referring patients for clinical assessment by a consultant or other medical professional when outside of scope of practice.
• Be able to make clinical decisions on delivering accurate, effective and safe management plans based on theoretical knowledge, clinical judgement and departmental policy.

For further details please see the attached JD & PS

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• HCPC Registration Radiographer.
• BSc (Hons) Degree in Therapeutic Radiography or DCR (T) or equivalent.
• Demonstrable experience as a qualified radiographer to master's level or equivalent
• In possession of or willing to undertake essential training (within 24 months if not already gained) in Non-Medical Prescribing and Informed Consent
• Comprehensive C.P.D. Portfolio

Desirable

• PGCE or equivalent in training
• Proven evidence of audit training
• Management or Leadership Qualifications

Knowledge and experience
Essential

• Specialist proven knowledge of treatment delivery and side effects.
• Specialist proven knowledge and understanding of RT computer systems used to deliver treatment and record the patient's history
• Specialist proven knowledge of Cancer Pathology and disease patterns.
• An active awareness of relevant legislation, national cancer standards, professional guidelines and trust policies. (IRR IR(ME)R ISO9001:2015)
• Demonstrable clinical experience of dealing with patient side effects and care
• Specialised proven knowledge of treatment areas, including potential radiation risks, acute patient side effects and their effective management

Desirable

• Proven evidence of participation in research, audit or quality improvement
• Demonstrable experience working at Enhanced or Specialist Practitioner level within a health care setting
• Ability to interpret and evaluate national and international guidelines and apply to local protocols and practice

Aptitude and Abilities
Essential

• Excellent communication skills with MDT members, patients and their families, both verbal and written
• Ability to organise and prioritise own workload effectively
• Demonstrates ability to take overall responsibility and accountability
• Ability to support others in meeting training goals
• Ability to develop and maintain professional relationships.

Desirable

• Competent computer skills for document and spreadsheet production and ability to enter data into specialist databases.
• Enhanced IT skills - proven working knowledge of software packages such as word, excel and outlook alongside EPR, PACS, ICE etc

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.
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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Address: Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, PL6 8DH, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Brachytherapy Lead, Melissa Leaman, melissaleaman@nhs.net, 01752430514

Supporting documents
Privacy notice: University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust's privacy notice