SENIOR SPECIALIST DIETITIAN – Head and Neck Cancer

Job overview

We are looking for a Dietitian to work alongside a dedicated and very experienced team of cancer specialist dietitians including a Senior Specialist Dietitian (Head and Neck Cancer), Senior Specialist Dietitian (Pancreatic Cancer), Senior Specialist Dietitian (Upper GI Cancer), Senior Specialist Dietitian (Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant), Senior Specialist Dietitians in Upper & Lower GI Cancer & rotational Band 6 Oncology Dietitian.

You will join a multi-disciplinary Head and Neck Cancer care team consisting of Maxillofacial and Ear Nose and Throat Surgeons, Oncology Consultants and their medical teams, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Speech and Language Therapists providing an expert nutrition and dietetic service to Head and Neck Cancer patients. You will be a core and much valued member of the multi-disciplinary Head and Neck cancer team.

Alongside the existing lead Head and Neck Dietitian, you will provide a proactive and co-ordinated dietetic service to Head and Neck patients at diagnosis and pre-assessment, to surgical and oncological in patients, day case patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy and outpatients attending MDT clinics. You will also support the transition to home through liaison with the Home Enteral Nutrition teams in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

Main duties of the job

To have specific dietetic responsibility for the care of Head and Neck cancer patients that are receiving nutritional support including inpatients, MDT outpatient reviews, Dietetic outpatient reviews, linking with primary care/outside agencies, on behalf of the UHL NHS Trust.

To be a joint core member of Head and Neck Cancer MDTs. To attend pre/post clinic review meetings and multi-professional meetings in order to provide expert nutrition and diet advice regarding provision of nutritional care to patients based on clinical evidence.

The post holder will work as a Senior Specialist Dietitian undertaking complex assessments in order to diagnose, plan, deliver and monitor complex dietetic intervention(s) independently and as part of the  MDTs.  The post holder will promote and be responsible for appropriate and best practice /evidence based advice on nutrition and dietetic issues received by patients, families, carers and health care professionals. This will involve making dietary, enteral and parenteral feeding recommendations and providing highly specialist advice after completing full dietetic assessment including calculation of nutritional requirements based on interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometry, anatomy and physiology, clinical condition/prognosis, nutritional and other physical parameters.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To work alongside the existing Head and Neck Cancer Dietitian (0.6 Band 7 WTE) to provide a specialist, extended scope, high quality, evidence based, effective nutrition and dietetic service for patients with head and neck cancer, their relatives and carers. Provision of service will focus around providing dietetic care to inpatients and outpatients (including on chemotherapy suite, radiotherapy units and MDT and dietetic outpatient clinics which could be face to face, telephone or video).

To work with head and neck cancer patients under the care of the Cancer, Haematology, Urology and Gastroenterology and General Surgery (CHUGGS) and Musculoskeletal and Specialist Surgery (MSSK) Clinical Management Groups.

To be an active member of the wider cancer care/CHUGGS dietetic team and wider adult dietetic team.