RN Dementia Coordinator

ABOUT MEDEFER

Medefer is a pioneer in virtual-first specialist healthcare. Founded by NHS consultants over a decade ago, we were delivering consultant-led virtual outpatient care well before “virtual hospitals” became a national priority. Our model has since been cited in government and NHS England material on the NHS Online vision as one of the service models informing this direction.

We sit at the intersection of clinical provider and technology company. Our CQC-registered service is powered by Medefer’s own electronic health record and referral platform, connecting GPs, consultants, diagnostic providers and hospitals into a single coordinated system. This approach has won multiple national awards for elective recovery, innovation and impact, and we now serve both NHS partners and private patients across the UK.

Medefer is built on three principles: innovate to solve real system problems, collaborate with clinicians and partners, and put patients first in every decision. As we scale across Integrated Care Systems and grow our private services, joining now means helping to define what modern specialist care looks like - and owning the financial strategy behind it.

JOB TITLE: Dementia Coordinator

REPORTING TO: Clinical Lead - Dementia

LOCATION: Remote

CONTRACT: Self-employed contractor

PAY RATE : £30.00 per hour

ROLE OVERVIEW:

Join us in our mission to transform patient care and be part of a dynamic and innovative team. We pride ourselves on a supportive, collaborative and inclusive culture and any individual working with Medefer will have the opportunity to work alongside a team of intelligent, driven and compassionate people who care deeply about transforming the way healthcare is delivered.

Everything we do is guided by our values: Patient First, Inventive and Collaborative, and brought to life through our five behaviours: Open, Adaptable, Curious, Compassionate and Accountable.

As a Dementia Coordinator, you will speak with patients who have purchased a memory assessment or an Alzheimer’s blood test through Medefer’s self-pay dementia service. Following the specialist’s written report, you will hold a supportive telephone or video call to talk through what happens next, discuss the practical and social side of living with memory problems, and connect patients and their families to the support available to them. You will document these interactions professionally so that they form part of the patient’s record.

This role is working on a contractor arrangement to enable Medefer to meet our fluctuating business requirements and the service in which you provide will be on an ad hoc and casual basis.

Initially the requirement is small, likely a few hours each week, with calls booked around your availability. There is scope for the role to grow, in hours and in scope, including contributing to the design of the coordinator service and supporting a wider coordinator team as the service develops.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To hold supportive telephone or video calls with patients at agreed points in the dementia assessment pathway, at a time that suits the patient.

• To support the patient in treatment decisions in light of information provided by the specialist.

• To talk through the specialist’s report in practical terms and discuss the options for what the patient can do next.

• To demonstrate effective communication skills, supporting patients in making decisions, planning care or seeking to make positive changes to promote a person centred approach in health and care.

• To ensure patients and their families are provided with information and support, both verbal and written where required, to make an informed decision about their care and options.

• To signpost and connect patients and carers to the support available to them, including NHS memory services, Admiral Nurse services, Alzheimer’s Society, local support groups, carer assessments, benefits advice, and lasting power of attorney and financial advice.

• To provide health education and advice to patients and their carers, including practical brain health advice where the assessment found nothing of concern.

• To hold a short suitability conversation with patients enquiring about the Alzheimer’s blood test, confirming they meet the agreed criteria and discussing what the test can and cannot tell them, escalating to the Clinical Lead where suitability is unclear.

• To work within the agreed scope of the coordinator role, which is to explain and navigate rather than to assess. Diagnosis, clinical interpretation of results, prescribing and changes to a care plan sit with the consultant, and a dementia diagnosis is always communicated by a qualified clinician.

• To escalate to the consultant on call any question that falls outside the coordinator scope, and to raise safeguarding concerns without delay.

• To accurately and concisely document all contact provided.

• To practise in accordance with the respective code of professional conduct and within the designated scope of practice, responsible and accountable for own decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice.

OUR VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS:

Our values, Patient First, Inventive and Collaborative shape every decision we make and define how we work together. They are supported by five behaviours that apply to every colleague at Medefer.

All colleagues at Medefer are expected to consistently demonstrate our five behaviours, regardless of role or level:

Open: We demonstrate an open and growth mindset, communicate transparently, challenge constructively and are receptive to feedback.

Adaptable: We adjust our approach, respond constructively to change and contribute beyond our role, demonstrating flexibility.

Curious: We ask questions, seek understanding, collaborate with colleagues to generate new ideas and continually learn to improve decisions and outcomes.

Compassionate: We maintain awareness of ourselves and others, communicate with empathy, create psychological safety and recognise when others need support.

Accountable: We take ownership of our behaviours, decisions, performance and outcomes, follow through on commitments and raise risks early.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration and a licence to practise.

• Evidence of continued professional development.

• Post registration experience in dementia care, gained within a memory service, an Admiral Nurse post, primary care, community mental health or a similar setting.

• In-depth knowledge of the dementia diagnostic pathway, and detailed awareness of the national and local support available to patients and carers.

• Advanced communication and listening skills, with experience of holding sensitive conversations with patients and families about memory problems and dementia.

• Confident practice under the Mental Capacity Act, and confident recognising and raising safeguarding concerns.

• Ability to work to a defined scope, and to escalate rather than answer when a question falls outside it.

• Ability to work independently and autonomously, remotely, by telephone and video.

• Currently working within an NHS or other clinical role and able to provide up to date documents in accordance with clinical compliance requirements.

• Reliable availability once work is accepted.

• Desirable: Admiral Nurse or other Dementia UK aligned experience; primary care dementia experience; familiarity with blood biomarker testing for Alzheimer’s disease; experience of service development or of writing operating procedures

Medefer is a Disability Confident Employer.

We commit to interviewing applicants who declare a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria for the job. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please let us know in your application or by contacting our recruitment team.

Medefer fully complies with the Equality Act 2010. We are an equal opportunities employer, value diversity and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

This job description is non-contractual and the postholder will be expected to perform additional duties and tasks that may be assigned by management from time to time to suit business needs.

Medefer contact details are provided for the specific purpose to support potential candidates and are not to be used to market services. The named individual has not consented to unsolicited marketing emails. ‘Direct marketing’ means the communication, by whatever means, of marketing material which is directed at individuals. Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) apply to unsolicited emails, for which the individual has not provided consent. Medefer takes the privacy of individuals very seriously and failure to abide by this notice will result in action taken.