Job summary
Do you have an interest in nutrition and weight management? Would you enjoy the opportunity to work with patients, assisting the dietitians to provide support and monitoring to adults living with obesity as part of our specialist weight management service? If so, 'Newcastle Nutrition' have a dietetic support worker vacancy in our friendly, supportive, and well- established community dietetic team. This newly funded position (temporary until 31st March 2026) has a focus on improving obesity treatment to patients living in the more deprived areas of Newcastle. We are therefore looking for someone who has the following attributes:
- Basic nutritional knowledge and understanding of local diet culture (including Newcastle's ethnic minority populations).
- Keen to develop their skills and confident to help test new ways of delivering services to individuals and groups.
- Interest in supporting project work which will help tackle barriers to engagement e.g., English is not a first language, social deprivation. Overall, reducing any inequalities in the care we provide to people living with obesity.
- Ability to support the team to collect data, to aid the evaluation of the evolving service
- Interview Date: 23 April 2024
- 22 hours 30 minutes/week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
Main duties of the job
Within this role you will be supported by a friendly team of dietitians and psychologists. The service currently provides dietetic and psychology led interventions. However, this new funding will aid expansion of the team into a more complete multidisciplinary team (extra administrative, psychology, physiotherapy and medical roles are also being recruited). Once established, this team aims to expand the treatment options on offer. Within this pathway, the dietetic support worker will assist the dietitians to educate and monitor the patients (take readings of weight, height, blood pressure etc). It is essential that you enjoy participating in effective team work and some background skills or experience of working in a health care environment would be an advantage.
In addition to excellent communication skills, candidates should be organised and self-motivated to organise own workload across out- patient and community settings.
The team is privileged to have good support from administrative staff. We also have strong connections with other specialist teams and the wider dietetic service at Newcastle Hospitals. You will also be supported by the manager of the community dietetics team and head of service. We are also committed to training dietetic students) and the successful candidate will be required to help supervise students when trained and confident. The team is committed to supporting staff development and encourages research, audit and personal development opportunities
About us
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest, largest and most successful teaching NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 16,000 staff and an annual income of £1 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We're also proud to be the second largest provider of specialised services in the country. This means we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 2 million patients 'contacts' each year, delivering high standards of healthcare.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people's race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will join the community dietetic team, based in modern offices at Regent Point in Gosforth. You will be required to work at locations across Newcastle; A car driver is preferred. There is also a requirement to carry teaching resources and set up community rooms for education sessions including arranging bariatric chairs and setting up scales. Agile/flexible working is supported by issue of mobile kit (laptop, mobile phone). Newcastle Hospitals is a paperlite hospital and as such our community service uses electronic patient records.
The post holder will be required to:
- Support organisation and delivery of a high-quality dietetic led weight management service to patients in community settings (car driver preferred)
- Maintain high standards of record keeping and professionalism
- Have a keen interest in supporting patients living with complex obesity.
- Adaptable to seeing patients both 1:1 and in groups. This will mainly involve face:face and tel work but possibly also virtual consultations using digital platforms.
- Support education and training to staff and students as required
- Participate in team and multi-disciplinary audit, research and service improvement work
- Attend and participate in multidisciplinary meetings and dietetic meetings
- Ensure compliance with trust standards and values. You will work in a manner which motivate colleagues, champions service user safety, dignity and drives continuous self and service improvement.
You should be enthusiastic and self-motivated and will:
- Have a basic knowledge of nutrition and awareness of local dietary culture (training will also be provided)
- Be able to communicate well to both patients, students, and other health professionals. Within this support patients utilising compassion and empathy; Patients occasionally present with mental health, social and emotional difficulties.
- Have confidence to develop skills in facilitating group education.
- Have basic keyboard skills, there is a need to regularly update electronic patients records
- Good numeracy skills, to measure patients weight, height and undertake simple calculations such as body mass index
- Be flexible and organised, able to prioritise work and meet deadlines
Job Purpose
- The Dietetic Support Worker will work alongside a specialist dietitian to deliver support to individuals in hospital or the community.
- The post-holder will be trained to assist the dietitian to deliver and review basic dietary advice and weight monitoring to patients and/or carers.
- The post holder will enter information onto enteral feed databases such as nutrition company databases and patient registration systems.
- The post holder will assist in the organisation and management of resources such as patient information leaflets and nutrition products.
- The post holder will facilitate training around nutrition screening and dietary strategies and collate data in relation to dietary intervention outcomes.
- The post holder will support with health promotion activities/national campaigns related to nutrition
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate.The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first months pay.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will join the community dietetic team, based in modern offices at Regent Point in Gosforth. You will be required to work at locations across Newcastle; A car driver is preferred. There is also a requirement to carry teaching resources and set up community rooms for education sessions including arranging bariatric chairs and setting up scales. Agile/flexible working is supported by issue of mobile kit (laptop, mobile phone). Newcastle Hospitals is a paperlite hospital and as such our community service uses electronic patient records.
The post holder will be required to:
- Support organisation and delivery of a high-quality dietetic led weight management service to patients in community settings (car driver preferred)
- Maintain high standards of record keeping and professionalism
- Have a keen interest in supporting patients living with complex obesity.
- Adaptable to seeing patients both 1:1 and in groups. This will mainly involve face:face and tel work but possibly also virtual consultations using digital platforms.
- Support education and training to staff and students as required
- Participate in team and multi-disciplinary audit, research and service improvement work
- Attend and participate in multidisciplinary meetings and dietetic meetings
- Ensure compliance with trust standards and values. You will work in a manner which motivate colleagues, champions service user safety, dignity and drives continuous self and service improvement.
You should be enthusiastic and self-motivated and will:
- Have a basic knowledge of nutrition and awareness of local dietary culture (training will also be provided)
- Be able to communicate well to both patients, students, and other health professionals. Within this support patients utilising compassion and empathy; Patients occasionally present with mental health, social and emotional difficulties.
- Have confidence to develop skills in facilitating group education.
- Have basic keyboard skills, there is a need to regularly update electronic patients records
- Good numeracy skills, to measure patients weight, height and undertake simple calculations such as body mass index
- Be flexible and organised, able to prioritise work and meet deadlines
Job Purpose
- The Dietetic Support Worker will work alongside a specialist dietitian to deliver support to individuals in hospital or the community.
- The post-holder will be trained to assist the dietitian to deliver and review basic dietary advice and weight monitoring to patients and/or carers.
- The post holder will enter information onto enteral feed databases such as nutrition company databases and patient registration systems.
- The post holder will assist in the organisation and management of resources such as patient information leaflets and nutrition products.
- The post holder will facilitate training around nutrition screening and dietary strategies and collate data in relation to dietary intervention outcomes.
- The post holder will support with health promotion activities/national campaigns related to nutrition
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate.The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first months pay.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- NVQ level 3 in Care or equivalent knowledge and skills
- full driving licence if required for the post
Desirable
- Basic Food Hygiene certificate
- Attendance of courses/ further professional development relating to health needs of children/adults/older people at risk of under nutrition
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Be able to demonstrate knowledge of food safety and health issues affecting children/adults in hospital
Desirable
- Understanding of basic nutrition principles Competent food preparation skills and enjoys cooking
- Evidence of employment working in a multidisciplinary team in the NHS or social care (adults or children depending on post).
- Experience of working with children/adults/groups with health care needs
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Excellent communication skills - verbal and written
- Good organisational skills
- Computer skills i.e. email, spreadsheets
- Basic numeracy skills
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- NVQ level 3 in Care or equivalent knowledge and skills
- full driving licence if required for the post
Desirable
- Basic Food Hygiene certificate
- Attendance of courses/ further professional development relating to health needs of children/adults/older people at risk of under nutrition
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Be able to demonstrate knowledge of food safety and health issues affecting children/adults in hospital
Desirable
- Understanding of basic nutrition principles Competent food preparation skills and enjoys cooking
- Evidence of employment working in a multidisciplinary team in the NHS or social care (adults or children depending on post).
- Experience of working with children/adults/groups with health care needs
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Excellent communication skills - verbal and written
- Good organisational skills
- Computer skills i.e. email, spreadsheets
- Basic numeracy skills
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
