Dietetic Assistant Practitioner - Acute / Community

Job overview

Unfortunately visa sponsorship is not available for this role so you must have right to work in the UK.

We are looking for an enthusiastic Dietetic Assistant Practitioner to join our friendly team to support delivery of nutrition advice to patients on wards at George Eliot Hospital and in the community for patients in their own homes and care homes. The role will be split 50:50 between acute and community. You should have experience of working with people, ideally in a healthcare setting.

As well as delivering advice to patients, you will set up and deliver training to staff to help meet the nutrition and hydration needs of inpatients and care home residents.

You will be supported and trained to meet competencies to enable you to provide care plans for patients on the wards and in care homes.

Please note, this role will be reimbursed at band 3 level until the necessary competencies and qualifications are obtained.

We want to hear from you if you:

Have experience of presenting information to groups of people

Have good communication skills

Are able to manage your own time and work independently

Have good administration and IT skills

Several previous Dietetic Assistant Practitioners have pursued Dietetic apprenticeships to enable them to become registered Dietitians and we have supported them with this as we continue to look for ways to develop our workforce.

Department videos

SWFT Dietetics Team

SWFT Dietetics Team: Dietetic Assistant Practitioner and Trainee Dietitian

Main duties of the job

To assess, plan and deliver nutrition treatment plans and undertake reviews for inpatients at George Eliot Hospital (GEH) within the remit of the role.

To assist in the planning and delivery of training to ward staff, both virtually and in person. The purpose of this training is to empower healthcare staff to be able to identify and manage malnutrition and dehydration appropriately.

To work closely with catering, nursing and dietetic staff at GEH to support them with meeting the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Regulation 14: Meeting Nutritional and Hydration needs and the Warwickshire Nutrition & Hydration Standards 2018.

To undertake administrative duties as required.

To work independently (support and guidance accessible) in the acute setting.

To be involved in development work within the Acute Team, this could include resource development, newsletters and updates.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

To undertake nutritional assessments of inpatients many of whom are at risk of malnutrition, including (as appropriate) anthropometric measurements, clinical condition, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score, reported diet history and social circumstances and use clinical reasoning skills to interpret data collected including and plan individualised service user care, using agreed care pathways as a basis.

To provide basic dietetic advice mainly in relation to the treatment of malnutrition to inpatients, their families, nursing and catering staff, taking account of medical, social, emotional, psychological and cultural needs of the patient and to be able to use this complex and sensitive information when formulating individualised dietetic advice.

To provide appropriate nutrition treatment plans based on ‘Food First’ principals & monitor / review patients dietary needs, involving nursing staff, catering staff and other health care professionals when indicated.

To provide advice on appropriate use of and first line oral nutritional products to meet patients nutritional requirements.

To demonstrate empathy and reassure patients and their families, when appropriate, to continue to reach targets throughout their nutritional treatment.

To be familiar with the use of tools to assess nutrition and hydration status in patients.

To be able to identify errors made by others when completing MUST and take appropriate action i.e. feedback to staff and / or provide further training.

To undertake reviews of patients on inpatient wards who have been provided with a treatment plan by a registered Dietitian.

Ensure effective use is made of department / trust resources, equipment and prescribed nutritional products by conducting supplement tasting.

Communication and Relationships:

To possess appropriate communication skills to be able to provide nutrition and hydration information to patients, their families, nursing staff, catering staff and other health professionals on inpatient wards. This will include one to one consultations, training sessions, meetings and communication via email, MS Teams or telephone. This involves communicating with healthcare staff with a range of backgrounds of nutritional knowledge, where there may be barriers to changing current practice requiring negotiation and effective and adaptable communication skills.

To establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with hospital staff. Positive relationships are characterised by open communication, trust and respect.

To integrate as a key member of the multidisciplinary team to optimise the experiences and outcomes of patients identified at risk of malnutrition and dehydration.

To be involved in the on-going development and delivery of training sessions for hospital staff including ward hostesses, healthcare assistance and nursing staff in line with the trusts nutrition and hydration strategy.

Analytical and Judgemental:

To be professionally and legally accountable and responsible for all aspects of your own work, including the management of service users in your care.

To develop individual nutrition treatment plans with / for patients, to reach agreed nutritional goals.

To negotiate and agree dietary changes with patients and ward staff using appropriate counselling, motivational and behaviour change techniques and skills. This may also involve patient’s families and friends where appropriate and will require a sensitive and empathetic manner to overcome resistance to change.

To evaluate and review nutritional care provided by ward staff, to ensure that staff are adhering to Food First principles in line with nutrition and hydration standards.

To evaluate and review your own work and that of the dietetic service, seeking the views of others and adopting the principles of evidence based practice to ensure maintenance of clinical and professional standards.

Planning and Organisation:

To work as a member of the Dietetic team and promote team working within George Eliot Hospital and the wider dietetic service.

To be able to plan and organise own caseload of inpatients, new referrals, meetings & training sessions.

Policy and Service:

To participate in the training of ward staff in line with nut in line with the trusts nutrition and hydration standards and assist in providing targeted feedback wards who fail to meet the required standards.

To collect outcome and activity data.

To contribute to the wider quality and audit programme, including the monitoring of clinical and process standards for your own work and that of the wider Nutrition and Dietetic Service.

To report any accidents or incidents via the DATIX incident reporting system and/or to an appropriate registered professional, ensuring an open and transparent culture.

To contribute to the development of high quality diet sheets, information leaflets and other educational resources to support the delivery of Nutrition and Dietetic Services.

To maintain an up to date knowledge and evidence base to support your practice.

To contribute to the implementation of protocols and guidelines relevant to your work.

To evaluate and review your own work and that of the service, seeking the views of others and adopting the principles of evidence based practice to ensure maintenance of clinical and professional standards.

To contribute to departmental meetings.

To contribute to the setting of targets and annual team objectives, and to the monitoring of these objectives.

Information Resources:

To maintain accurate and comprehensive service user records in line with HCPC, BDA, Trust and departmental standards.

To collect outcome data to meet the department’s information requirements.

Education, Training and Personal Development:

To plan, provide and assist in training for a wide range of qualified and unqualified hospital and ward staff.

To evaluate, review and update all training provided on a regular basis.

To contribute to the clinical supervision of student dietitians and/or dietetic assistants (responsibility once sufficiently experienced, training provided as required).

To ensure attendance at mandatory training sessions i.e. infection control, resuscitation and moving and handling training.

To complete the Trust’s Clinical Support Worker Induction programme

To successfully complete the Care Certificate within 12 weeks of commencing employment.

To meet identified competencies and ensure knowledge and skills required to undertake the responsibilities of the post are attained and maintained.

To participate in appraisals and personal reviews and work to achieve agreed set objectives.

To participate in team, professional and personal development activities including IT and clinical skills and promote commitment to continuous development and improvement.

Maintain up to date knowledge of changes in policies and procedures relevant to the post.

Freedom to Act:

Describes and applies clinical reasoning for the treatment of service users under their care.

Works within broad treatment guidelines, but is able to act autonomously when making decisions about service user’s care within agree boundaries. Is supervised by an experienced Dietitian with whom they can discuss treatment plans, problems and queries.

Refers the care of complex service user cases, which are outside their competencies, to a Registered Dietitian.