Job responsibilities
Be the clinical lead for the HEFTs Adult service providing line management to band 5 and 6 registered clinicians within this team
Oversee the clinical case load assigned to members of the HEF Adult service, to ensure safe caseload balance and to manage patient complexity allocation within the team
To develop the adult HEF service in areas where it is felt increased clinical input is needed
To include development of staff within the team, facilitating and supporting learning opportunities
To support the Band 6 Specialist Adult Dietitian with line management of the Dietetic Support Worker within that specialism
To lead on induction and training of the HEF Adult specialisms staff against local and national frameworks, with support from the Deputy HEF Service leads
To work collaboratively with all other Team Leads within HEFT, but especially the Specialist Neurology and HEFT Team Lead Dietitian, to deliver agreed strategies and clinical workload.
Keep up-to-date and lead on any changes to local and national frameworks relevant to HEF
To support training programmes within the HEFT, covering Dietetic students, junior and specialist staff within the team with support from the Deputy HEF Service leads and senior leadership team
Be a key resource for the creation and management of documentation for enteral nutrition support. This will include competency development for the staff within the specialism, internal policy, patient and carer literature development and external publication
Contribute to and support the clinical governance agenda within the HEFT and the wider Nutrition and Dietetic department for audit and research as part of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) within the trust
To adopt and adapt new ways of working to improve outcomes
To continually reflect on own practice, improve quality of care through continual innovation and participation in wide ranging peer review
Work countywide
To be an authorised signatory for HEFT staff timesheets, participate in staff recruitment, inductions and undertake appraisals
Clinical
To use highly specialist knowledge and clinical expertise to assess, agree, implement and monitor a nutrition and dietetic care plan based on a range of treatment options for adult HEF patients who have complex medical, nutritional and psychological needs. This would include patients that require a domiciliary assessment, handover of patients who are acutely unwell and need admitting to the acute ward, domiciliary ventilated patients, patients that require long-term rehabilitation and patients requiring palliation.
To manage a specialist caseload of adult HEF patients, which will include complex patients, alongside overseeing all clinical work delegated, including to members of the Dietetic Assistant Team (DAT) within the specialism
To provide specialist training to all member of the specialism and wider service when required
To prescribe the appropriate feed for the patient, utilising clinical expertise within the field of adult HEF dietetics
To use advanced communication/behaviour change skills and motivational techniques to negotiate with the patient the necessary lifelong changes to both their diet and care of enteral feeding tubes and stoma sites
To overcome resistance to dietary change by motivating and delivering to patient/carers, the appropriate information and skills needed to meet their nutritional requirements, empowering the patient and carers to control nutritional wellbeing. This includes patients with multifaceted dietary needs of differing age groups with a wide range of medical conditions
To overcome complex barriers to communication due to social and emotional issues as well as cognitive or physical impairment e.g., dysphasia, deafness, blindness and depression
To have knowledge and understanding of working with communication devices
To keep abreast of new and emerging clinical practices and be instrumental in supporting the senior service leads to embed these locally, mitigate risk, gather evidence and ensure budgeting is covered
To undertake an extended role, providing care/repair of gastrostomy tubes and care of stoma sites for patients in their own homes, escalating complex enteral tube and stoma site issues to the ENNS Team within the HEFT, helping to avoid the patient returning to hospital
To support and advise other health professionals as part of an MDT; communicating the dietetic treatment of patients to nursing, medical staff, and other health professions by providing appropriate verbal and written instructions to ensure they understand and can support the patients treatment plan
To update the MDT on patient progress and changes to the treatment plan, including changes to swallow, prescribed feeds or physical condition
To recognise other medical and social problems that the patient may have, identify the appropriate professional and refer the patient appropriately
To ensure patient information is accurately completed for departmental and nationwide reports, in a timely manner
To ensure all information regarding prescribed feeds is recorded accurately and updated whenever changes occur
To provide up to date feeding regimens to all relevant agencies and care settings
Evidence Based Practice
Continually maintain clinical knowledge of most up to date evidence in adult HEF Dietetics and lead on the implementation of these
To lead on the development of clinical guidelines, policies and written information for nutrition and dietetic HEF services
To work with other members of the Dietetic department and MDT on audit projects within adult HEF and enteral feeding clinical areas and be the key expert on nutrition support for adult HEF patients
Lead and participate in research within the Adult HEF cohort of patients
Leadership Responsibilities
To lead on adult HEF nutritional support training for the department. To provide clinical updates for multidisciplinary staff working with adult HEF patients across the county (for example at specialist interest group meetings and at the residential centres).
Play a leading role in networking and planning of service improvements
To provide expert clinical support to junior dietitians and support staff in delivering nutritional care to adult patients within the HEFT and acute settings. To be an expert resource to them.
To lead in the development of members of the staff within the specialism through undertaking tutorials, clinical supervision and contributing to development reviews
To plan the programme, supervise and assess the dietetic students within adult HEF areas
To lead with the recruitment and selection of staff within the specialism through assisting in the development of job descriptions and taking part in the interview and induction process
Professional and Managerial
Be the professional lead for the Adult HEF specialism, delivering and progressing the staff training programme enabling the staff to undertake their key roles and develop
Be the line manager for the Adult HEF specialism in the HEFT, appraising the staff annually and setting agreed personal and service objectives
Responsible for ensuring all care is given in accordance with agreed protocols and to agreed service levels
Provide support and guidance to colleagues so that they are able to deliver a client focused service
To support senior service leads and at times lead in cross-department process improvement and planning
To support the development of strategies designed to promote and improve enteral nutritional health in individuals and groups by identifying and selecting from a range of health and social agencies to improve nutritional enteral care
To support senior service leads in clinical risk management activities within the clinical setting and lead on active risk management within their specialism with particular reference to the un-registered workforce
Ensure the formal reporting and recording of adverse incidents in line with Trust Policy via the Datix system
Utilise and maintain information systems to aid our Clinical Information Lead and audit to provide regular active analysis reports
To support and advocate the best use of available resources within agreed budget to provide a cost-effective service
To support the senior service leads in monitoring monthly spending to ensure it remains within budget
Recognise ethical and legal issues which have implications for dietetic practice and take appropriate action
Identify gaps in service provision and escalate these in a timely manner to senior service leads to enable changes required to improve the service
To create additional, effective links within primary, secondary and tertiary care to ensure effective communication
Recognise and act as an advocate for patients, carers, HEF service and our trust
To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff
To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of our trust, together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations, ensuring all staff within their specialism abide to these also.
Maintain a professional portfolio to demonstrate competency in line with trust competency framework and HCPC guidelines
