Specialist Screening Practitioner BCSP

Transformationunitgm; Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside; On-site; GBP 38,000 - GBP 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in Newcastle upon Tyne is looking for a committed Specialist Screening Practitioner to join their Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. This role involves providing high-quality support to patients throughout the screening process. The ideal candidate will be a live NMC Registered Nurse with excellent communication skills and the ability to work autonomously. A valid driving license is essential. Working with a top-performing NHS Trust offers opportunities for professional development, alongside a supportive team environment.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Pension scheme

Access to a specialist Wellbeing Hub

Flexible working opportunities

Professional development training

Qualifications

• Provided high-quality, patient-centred care.
• Experience of working as part of an MDT.
• Evidence of qualification to undertake supervision and assessing students.

Responsibilities

• Act as the key point of contact for patients referred into the screening programme.
• Coordinating patient pathways and delivering specialist assessment.
• Providing expert clinical support and information.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Sound clinical judgement

Ability to work autonomously

Experience in endoscopy

Familiarity with health promotion practice

Education

1st Level live NMC Registered Nurse

Diploma/Degree Health Related

Job description

Employer Northumbria Healthcare - NHCT Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Victoria Infirmary Town Newcastle upon Tyne Salary £38,682 - £46,580 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 15/02/2026 23:59

NHS AfC: Band 6

Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work for an organisation that was voted the best acute and combined acute and community trust in the country, based on the experience of its staff (NHS Staff Survey 2022). Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare and, this is…the Northumbria Way!

What the Northumbria Way means for you:

• Extensive staff health and well‑being programme including access to our specialist Wellbeing Hub
• Support and connection through a variety of Staff Network groups
• A range of flexible working opportunities
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Access to lease car and home electronics scheme (qualifying criteria applies)
• Opportunities to improve your professional development through our vast training programmes
• Access to savings scheme via salary sacrifice with Northumberland Community Bank

We work closely with Kids First Nurseries that are based within our trust grounds at Wansbeck, North Tyneside and Hexham hospitals to care for our Trust family's children, they offer care for children from 6 weeks old up to 4 years. There are a number of funding options run by the government to help working parents, including Early Years Funding and Tax Free Childcare.

Flexible working offers choice in where, when, and how we work, ensuring patients remain at the heart of all we do. It’s open to everyone, and we aim to find solutions that work for both you and the organisation. All arrangements must be reasonable and balanced to maintain safe and effective patient care.

We are proud to be one of the country’s top performing NHS trusts – rated ‘outstanding’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We provide a range of health and care services to support more than 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside across the largest geographical area of any NHS Trust in England. Our teams deliver care from hospitals, a range of community venues and people’s homes. Our hospitals include a specialist emergency care hospital (the first of its kind in England), three general hospitals and community hospitals. In the community we deliver a wide range of community and public health services.

We lead in innovation and quality, having opened the Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub during the Covid‑19 pandemic and have recently launched our Community Promise – a pledge to make a real impact not just in healthcare but on the wider factors that affect people’s lives, such as education, employment and the economy.

If Northumbria Healthcare sounds like somewhere you could belong we would love to hear from you. Visit our website to catch up on our latest news.

Whilst Northumbria Healthcare are a highly innovative organisation, the use of Third Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity your individual recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Job overview

We are seeking to appoint a committed and enthusiastic Specialist Screening Practitioner to join our team. Joining the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme offers the opportunity to make a tangible, life‑changing impact every day. As an SSP you will be at the heart of a national programme proven to save lives through early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer.

SSPs play a vital role within the screening pathway, providing high‑quality, patient‑centred care from the point of referral through to diagnosis, treatment, and discharge. The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner following a probation period and will be responsible for the delivery of care to service users across the North of Tyne covering multiple sites of both Northumbria and Newcastle trusts. The post will be based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle with an additional office at North Tyneside General Hospital.

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.

"Please note, for Secondment roles before an application is submitted, please ensure you have received the appropriate approval and completed documentation required beforehand, as this may delay the process if an offer was to be made."

Main duties of the job

The post holder will act as the key point of contact for patients referred into the screening programme, coordinating their pathway, delivering specialist assessment, and providing expert clinical support and information. This includes undertaking nurse‑led clinics, telephone assessments, patient education, and supporting individuals through often complex and sensitive decision‑making processes.

The role requires excellent communication skills, sound clinical judgement, and the ability to work autonomously while maintaining strong collaborative relationships with endoscopy, colorectal, and administrative teams.

Previous experience in endoscopy, colorectal or cancer nursing would be advantageous but not essential, as would familiarity with health promotion practice and the running of nurse‑led clinics. To ensure a patient centred service is offered, the ability to work across sites and on some evenings and Saturdays is also crucial. Therefore a valid driving licence and use of a vehicle for work is essential.

The successful candidate will receive comprehensive training and ongoing professional development to support them in this rewarding and challenging role. be expected to complete the Screening Practitioner's course at Liverpool John Moore’s University within the first 12 months of coming into post – This is a mandatory requirement for the role and includes a residential element.

Working for our organisation

We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, in addition to our state‑of‑the‑art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. We also care for people in their homes and provide services from facilities in local communities such as health centres. We give people greater choice and control over their care to help them to live independently at home and avoid hospital admission where appropriate. High quality patient care is at the heart of everything we do and we strive to ensure every single patient and service user has an exceptional experience with us. We have one of the most extensive patient experience programmes of any trust in England.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key aspects of the role include:

Assessing and preparing patients for screening colonoscopy and other diagnostic procedures

Providing specialist advice, information, and support to patients and families

Managing results, follow‑up pathways, and onward referrals

Contributing to service improvement, audit, and quality assurance processes

Supporting the delivery of high standards of care in line with national BCSP requirements

Work collaboratively with the Screening Programme Hub providing the link with the acute services.

Co‑ordinate health promotion activities with local providers to facilitate awareness and access.

The North of Tyne Bowel Cancer Screening Centre is a partnership between both Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust and Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust.

Person specification

Qualifications/Experience and knowledge

• 1 st Level live NMC Registered Nurse
• Registered Mentor
• Diploma/Degree Health Related
• Experience of working as part of an MDT
• Significant post registration experience including previous experience in the specialty
• Evidence of qualification to undertake the supervision, teaching and assessing of students (essential requirement for post, expectation this will be completed within an 18 month period unless post is bank only).
• Experience in specialty
• Knowledge of primary care

Other

• It is an essential requirement of the role that the post holder has a valid driving licence and is either a car owner and able to use the car for work purposes, or has a Trust personal lease vehicle which may be used for the role

Other

• It is an essential requirement of the role that the post holder has a valid driving licence and is either a car owner and able to use the car for work purposes, or has a Trust personal lease vehicle which may be used for the role. However, the Trust would consider making reasonable adjustments to the role, if necessary, to enable a disabled person to undertake the role

Applicants who are members of the Armed Forces, and those who have a disability that requires support in the work place (two ticks pledge) and who meet the essential criteria will be interviewed under the Trust's interview guarantee scheme.

We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion and are committed to a workforce that is diverse, equal and inclusive. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME people are currently under‑represented in our workforce as well as other under‑represented groups such as LGBT+ and disabled candidates. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, we have a Gold award from the Defense Recognition Scheme, and we are delighted to support Apprenticeships, Age Posi+ive and are a mindful employer.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend interview please make the recruitment team aware as soon as possible by calling our HR Recruitment Team on 0191 203 1415 option 2.

Applicants who meet the Fit and Proper Person Requirements (FPPR) will require additional pre‑employment checks in line with CQC and NHS England statutory guidance.

Make sure to read the ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application and make sure you know everything there is to know before joining our fantastic trust!

Certificate of Sponsorship

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust proudly hold a sponsor licence. In order to provide sponsorship you and the role you are applying for must meet UKVI eligibility requirements. Please check your eligibility prior to submitting an application. Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note that it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their own DBS certification if a DBS check is required for the post. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first monthly pay.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.