Cancer Pre-habilitation Exercise Assistant

Cancer pre-habilitation (prehab) is a way of optimising strength, fitness and lifestyle before cancer treatment. It can physically prepare patients for their treatment or procedure, with the aim of reducing any side effects that could slow down recovery. Prehab can give patients a better understanding of their condition and its treatment, giving them the knowledge to better manage any symptoms that a person may have.

What can Pre-habilitation offer?

• Advice regarding the increase of physical activity in line with latest national guidance
• Individualised exercise programmes
• Increasing awareness of what to expect after treatment and how to gradually return to normal levels of activity
• Personalised nutritional assessment and education from a Dietitian
• Support managing symptoms that affect nutritional intake
• Screening for malnutrition
• Provision of evidence based dietary counselling and optimisation
• Advice from Allied health professionals regarding limitations with day to day activities
• Supporting physical and emotional wellbeing throughout treatment.

Research also suggests that support ahead of treatment can support people to:

• Leave hospital sooner after surgery
• Cope better with the side effects of cancer treatment
• Have more treatment choices
• Have better long-term health

The primary aim of this role is to work alongside the Lead Pre-habilitation Exercise Instructor and Allied Health Professionals to improve the physical outcomes of patients undergoing treatment for cancer. The post holder will work closely with the Cancer Support Team to support patients who have been diagnosed with cancer.

The post holder will be a pivotal part of the Pre-habilitation service for cancer patients. They will offer exercise/general dietary and lifestyle advice to help patients to prepare physically and mentally for treatment. They will have a robust understanding of the needs of people with a diagnosis of cancer and undergoing the treatments connected with this.

The Cancer Pre-habilitation Exercise Assistant will work as an active member of the team in supporting and supporting patients during their time on our programme. They will have in depth knowledge of exercise and its prescription. With this knowledge they will also be able a resource for training of other team members and the development of the service.

The post holder will navigate patients to appropriate support services both in secondary and primary care.

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust (SFT) is an innovative hospital with a proud heritage and over 250 years of experience behind us. Here we’re driven to deliver an outstanding experience for everyone and have been well regarded for the quality of care and treatment we continue to provide for our patients and also our staff.

We are an acute Trust, rated “Good” by the CQC, with a track record of high performance providing regional and super regional specialist services such as: Burns, Plastics & Reconstructive Surgery, Wessex Regional Genetics Laboratory, Wessex Rehabilitation, Spires Cleft Centre and the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre. We have about 470 beds and employ over 4000 staff.

We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. We think working here is pretty rewarding. You can access a range of NHS discounts, receive a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme. On-site benefits include car parking (fee applies), leisure centre, day nursery and holiday play scheme.

Salisbury is an attractive place to live and work and really gives you the best of everything. With easy access to London and local airports, the city of Southampton is only a short train or car journey away or if you prefer the sea, Bournemouth is also accessible. Don’t just take our word for it, why not explore what Salisbury has to offer by visiting www.experiencesalisbury.co.uk

Please see attached Job description and person specification for full details of roles and responsibilities.

We are looking to recruit a Cancer Pre-habilitation Exercise Assistant. The post will be for 15 hours per week based at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and is fixed term until March 2024 although there is potential for this to be extended.