Patient Information Writer

Job description

Job title                     Patient Information Writer

Type of contract       Permanent

Hours of work           Full time 37.5 hours a week

Remuneration          £26,000 to £29,000, dependent upon experience

Location                   Hybrid - a mix of home and Leukaemia Care offices with a minimum of two days in the office.

Report to                  Information Manager

Work closely with   Senior Graphic Designer, Content Creator, Patient Information Writer, Volunteer Coordinator

Closing Date Monday 26th October

Overview

This is an excellent opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of people affected by leukaemia as part of a small but dedicated information team. The team focuses predominantly on developing information for people with leukaemia and their families, but the work may also include information for healthcare professionals and other audiences. Our information covers a wide range of topics from diagnosis, treatment and care to living well with leukaemia. It includes web content, booklets, factsheets, videos, infographics and more.

You should have experience of producing high-quality health information for a lay audience. You’ll be passionate about developing information that meets the needs of the target audience and considers their views and experiences. You will aim for continuous improvement, have a proactive attitude, and be comfortable suggesting and implementing new or better was of producing information that makes a difference.

Duties and responsibilities

Key duties

• Research and write evidence-based information for people with leukaemia, their families and carers and other audiences as required
• Translate complex and technical medical information into plain language that is accessible and inclusive
• Develop content for a variety of print and digital formats, including audio and visual information
• Gather and incorporate feedback on content from patients, healthcare professionals and colleagues, documenting and maintaining clear version control
• Follow information production processes, organisational style and brand guidelines to ensure information is accurate, relevant, consistent and meets PIF-tick accreditation standards
• Review and update existing information resources according to PIF-tick standards
• Work with colleagues in the Communications team to promote and disseminate information to relevant audiences

General

In addition to the specific duties and responsibilities listed above, all Leukaemia Care employees should:

• Adhere to all health and safety and fire regulations and co-operate with the Charity in maintaining good standards of health and safety
• Uphold ethical and professional standards and not behave in a manner that is likely to bring the Charity into disrepute
• Promote and sustain a responsible attitude towards equal opportunities and diversity within the Charity
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and development and participate in any training relevant to the role
• Participate in team meetings and build productive working relationships with colleagues throughout the organisation

This job description is not exhaustive. It acts as a guide and may be amended to meet the changing requirements of the charity at any time after discussion with the post holder.

Person specification

Essential

Excellent writing skills with the ability to communication complex and often technical medical information in plain language

Meticulous attention to detail

Able and willing to take constructive feedback from internal and external content reviewers

Research and analytical skills, including scientific referencing

Excellent organisational and time management skills

Self-motivated with the capacity to work independently as part of a small team

IT literate (MS Office preferable)

Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience), ideally in a science or health-related discipline

Understands how to identify and appraise reliable evidence sources for health information

Understands the advantages and limitations of AI use in information production

Experience in a health information creation role

A good team player – able to work well with a range of people within the organisation

Able to work flexibly to meet the needs of the role with sufficient notice

Desirable

Able to use content management systems, project management software e.g. Asana and customer relationship management databases e.g. Raisers Edge NXT

Understands the issues and needs of people with leukaemia or other blood cancers

Knowledge of accessible information needs

Understands the concept of health and digital literacy

Experience creating information in different formats (e.g. written, video and audio)

Experience in the charity sector

Experience producing information that complies with PIF-tick accreditation standards

Why it’s great to work at Leukaemia Care

As well as the satisfaction of knowing you improve the lives of people with leukaemia, blood cancer, we also offer the following:

• Annual leave of 36 days including 8 bank holidays (for full-time staff, pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Additional discretionary annual leave between Christmas and New Year
• Pension scheme with Aviva - we will match employee contributions up to 7% of qualifying earnings
• Life Assurance (also known as death in service benefit) of four times annual salary
• Employee Assistance programme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Enhanced sick pay (as set out in our staff handbook)
• Bereavement leave of up to five days paid leave should the need unfortunately arise
• Flu jab for all employees who are ineligible to receive a free one on the NHS
  
• Free onsite parking at our offices in Worcester (if applicable)
• Induction training and ongoing training to help you deliver your role

WHO WE ARE, AND WHAT WE DO

Leukaemia Care is the UK’s leading leukaemia charity.  For over 50 years, we have been dedicated to ensuring that everyone affected receives the best possible diagnosis, information, advice, treatment and support.

We are here for everyone affected by leukaemia and related blood cancer types – such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).

We provide information, advice and support for anyone affected, this includes patients and their friends and families too. We raise awareness of the issues impacting people affected by leukaemia, MDS and MPN, and campaign to fix them.  We are driving early diagnosis, raising public awareness, improving services and ensuring access to effective treatments.

How do we do this? We have a wide-range of services aimed at patients and their loved ones from diagnosis and beyond. Our support services range from nurse-led helplines, support groups and free-of-charge medical information to access to paid counselling, grants for those feeling the financial strain of a diagnosis and providing buddies so people always have somebody to talk to who have experienced something similar to them. We encourage you to have a read of our website and find out all the ways we support from diagnosis and beyond.

Crucial to our work is raising awareness of leukaemia as a blood cancer and the importance for early diagnosis. Leukaemia can be difficult to spot as the symptoms are similar to many other common conditions. Unfortunately, most people are not aware of the signs of leukaemia and this leads to diagnosis being delayed, which can worsen outcomes for patients.

As well as working to educate the general public through our #SpotLeukaemia campaign, we are working closely with our colleagues working in front line medical services to ensure they have the most up-to-date information on diagnosing leukaemia. We know that by raising awareness and working to educate health care professionals, we can save lives and improve outcomes.

Equality and Diversity

Leukaemia Care is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and communities and are committed to making reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so early application is encouraged