Specialist Dietician

Job overview

Specialist Dietitian for adolescents (13-17year olds) requiring admission whilst receiving inpatient mental health treatment.

To work autonomously providing advanced nutritional and dietetic advice/support to patients affected by mental health conditions including eating disorders.

To provide comprehensive assessment and provision of individual or group dietary advice/treatment and on-going support to patients and/or carers according to medical history, clinical condition, diagnosis, risk, anthropometry, biochemistry, relevant medication, social circumstances, motivation, and nutritional intake.

To be a source of expertise on the dietary management of eating disorders to the MDT, other health professionals, GPs, external agencies, and the local dietetic department.

To liaise and support acute hospital colleagues whilst co-working and managing severe presentations of eating difficulties and eating disorders.

To undertake complex dietetic assessments, formulate nutritional plans tailored to the person’s needs, collaboratively with families and carers as appropriate.

To lead on current best practice regarding dietetics and eating disorders. Be involved in audit and evaluation of practice using research methodology.

To be involved in the designing, writing and delivery of training both internally and externally.

To develop resources and contribute to service development alongside dietetic colleagues.

Main duties of the job

Key Duties

• Specialist Dietitian for Dragonfly unit at Carlton Colville, Lowestoft.

• Provides highly specialised nutritional advice and support in treatment of adolescents experiencing a acute mental health episode including eating disorders.

• To educate and support patients and their families / supporters on nutritional needs, using appropriate language and education tools to meet their needs and requirements.

• To ensure all members of the different teams are aware of specific plans made with their patients by attendance at team meetings and via the electronic record.

• To work with the multidisciplinary team in assessing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating a programme of care for adult eating disorder patients.

• Participate in decision making meetings as appropriate, evaluating care with members of the multidisciplinary team, making recommendations for change, and evaluating outcomes.

• To manage a patient caseload with the support of the multidisciplinary team.

• To ensure that dietary recommendations are communicated by utilising the highest level of interpersonal skills to all members of the team and incorporated in the patients’ overall package of care.

• To identify the need for development of relevant evidence based written information for patients and health care professionals and to review them at agreed intervals.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Professional Duties

• To be professionally accountable and responsible for all aspects of own work.

• To participate in audit and research.

• To provide treatment and dietary counselling to a defined number of outpatient caseload as identified by the teams.

• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of evidence-based policy, procedure and guidelines relevant to the care of adults with eating disorders.

• To provide professional consultation to professional colleagues across as required or requested.

• To ensure that all eating disorder patients are treated in accordance with evidence-based practice and nationally agreed standards.

• To ensure that continuation of care within the dietetic service, including discharge planning, follow service standards.

• To work with the MDT to develop and implement outcome measures that demonstrate improvements in the delivery of eating disorder services.

• To advise other agencies/services on dietary matters requested.

• To provide in house training to health professionals in line with the service objectives and to support staff in the development of their clinical and professional competencies.

• Participate in the development and provision of structure of structured programmes of education the Dragonfly unit.

• Participation in and dissemination of relevant research and audit results through presentation to eating disorder teams and other relevant professional groups.

• To attend MDT Meetings and other professional meetings as required.

• To maintain accurate and contemporaneous records of dietetic assessment, implementation and evaluation of management and therapeutic interventions in accordance with Trust and professional guidelines.

• To contribute to the consultation and engagement of young people  in planning and developing Services.

• Act as a role model in the observance and delivery of equality and diversity of good  practice.

General Management Duties

• To ensure that all Trust standards are maintained and monitored to improve the quality of care to all who come into contact with the services provided.

• To be responsible for personal or corporate aspects of health and safety as they relate to this post.

• Advocates for quality and cost-effective healthcare.

Personal

• To act upon objectives agreed as part of the appraisal and development review including team, professional and continuing professional development needs.
• To manage work such that time is allowed for relevant personal update.
• To be responsible for the administrative work involved in carrying out clinical duties effectively, including maintenance of clinical notes, report writing, use of computer systems and collation statistics.
• To undertake Continued Professional Development, research development and Quality initiatives.
• To undertake Mental Health Training e.g. CBT training as identified by the eating disorder service.
• To undertake Mandatory Training as requested in the Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust.
• Adhere to trust policies and procedures.
• To communicate effectively complex nutrition information to ensure collaborative working with members of the health care team, patients and carers, using strategies such as motivational interviewing, behavioural change modification and counselling. This may involve dealing with distressed and upset patient and carers.