Pathway Navigators across Wessex have been recognised with an Innovation Award. The NHSE Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development Programme (ACCEND), presented the award to Project Manager Jo Tibbles, on behalf of our Cancer Navigators at a Cancer Support Worker Event in Liverpool, on Tuesday 11 July, 2023

Jo says; “ I am so proud of all the Pathway Navigator who have each bought a unique set of skills to their teams and have worked hard to embed a new and unknown role. I am especially grateful to the early adopter sites who saw the potential benefits of Pathway Navigation to transform the workforce and improve patient outcomes”.

Since launching the Pathway Navigator Pilot in 2022 Wessex Cancer Alliance has introduced 25 new Navigators across our Trusts, adding capacity to the teams at the start of the cancer pathway. Covering eight different specialties as well as Imaging, Pathology and Endoscopy our team are making improvements in three key areas;

• They have become the first point of contact for patients, taking time to understand their individual needs so they can best support them to access their care.
• They have become integral members of the team, taking on duties from the clinical staff releasing their capacity to see more patients.
• They track patients across the pathway, improving the efficiency and flow by making service improvements and ensuring maximum utilisation of appointments.

To support the Pathway Navigators we have set up a virtual peer network as well as a training programme aligned to the ACCEND framework enabling them to improve their skills, knowledge and competencies.

The impact of the Pathway Navigators is measured, to support business cases to make effective roles substantive. So far, nine posts have received Trust extensions on their initial fixed term contracts and three have been made permanent.

With the impacts we are seeing; Wessex Cancer Alliance has committed to funding another ten new navigator posts for the coming year.

Each Pathway Navigator has bought a unique set of skills to their team and have worked hard to embed a new and unknown role.

We are especially grateful to the early adopter sites who saw the potential benefits of Pathway Navigation to transform the workforce and improve patient outcomes.

Find out more about the role of Pathway Navigators on our dedicated webpage