The role of Radiotherapy Review Specialist Radiographer (RRS) at the Royal Free London Radiotherapy Department in Hampstead is multi-faceted.
At its core is the clinical review and care of patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment through effective side effects management. Alongside this, they provide holistic and pre-habilitation support to patients before they start their treatment and follow-up assessments to those who have finished treatment.
This role provides the opportunity to carry out the clinical assessment of patients and be a non-medical prescriber, as well as expanding experience into providing information and support to patients through all stages of their radiotherapy journey and engaging with support services and teams throughout the pathway.
Cross-over role
The RRS role at the Royal Free is a cross-over between an information support specialist role and the more widely known review radiographer role due to its links to prehabilitation and follow-up as well as on-treatment support and coordination with the SACT teams.
The existing RRS radiographer describes it as a “really interesting role” and “an opportunity to have the time to have a more holistic talk with someone and provide the emotional support that I am really passionate about”.
The RRS team integrate seamlessly with the clinical oncology consultants, specialist registrars, acute oncology service, SACT team and CNSs to ensure all radiotherapy patients are well supported during their treatment. As the service is located in the centre of the department, patients have easy access to the support and care they need.
Pre-habilitation work
The prehabilitation programme, led by the RRS team, is provided in close collaboration with organisations such as Maggie’s, and focusses on preparing patients, both mentally and physically, before they commence their treatment. The team has presented on the successful implementation of this work at national conferences, demonstrating the benefit of this integrated approach for both staff and patients
The RRS team also provide a radiographer-led breast follow-up clinic to patients, contacting patients six weeks post-treatment to ensure they have the support they need and providing it if neceessary.
The role of Radiotherapy Review Specialist at the Royal Free London Radiotherapy Department is currently open to applications and closes on Sunday 13 August. Apply here.