Specialist Paediatric Dietitian

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

1. To provide a highly specialist Dietetic service to the community.
2. To be involved in the development and production of new educational resources and regularly review diet sheets and other written information to ensure alignment with evidence-based practice
3. To be able to travel and carry (or organise the movement of) equipment required for health promotion / screening and other ad hoc activities i.e. paediatric scales, weighing scales, food models / mats, display boards, etc.
4. To be actively involved in the planning and organisation of the specialist paediatric service in liaison with the head of service.
5. To employ appropriate strategies to manage challenging and aggressive behaviours within the workplace when working in isolation e.g. outpatient clinic or home visit
6. To be flexible to the demands of the environment including unpredictable work patterns, deadlines and frequent interruptions and working in areas of potential threat to personal safety.
7. To actively participate in departmental and Trust Clinical Governance meetings relevant to general and specialist dietetic areas of work.
8. To initiate, plan and conduct Trust-wide/regional/national audits/research projects, and analyse, interpret and present results to relevant groups and co-lead or assist in the implementation of changes to clinical practice/service delivery.
9. To practice within the Health Professions Councils Standards of conduct, performance and ethics and Standards of proficiency for dietitians, and the British Dietetic
10. To work as an integrated member of the Nutrition and Dietetic Service.
11. Contribute to financial management of resources by ensuring adequate supplies of feeding products and information resources.
12. Provide cover for colleagues in their absence
13. Undertake any other duties commensurate with the post, as requested by Nutrition and Dietetic Lead and Head of Nutrition and Dietetics and Adult Speech and Language Therapy Services. Any changes will be discussed with the post holder.
14. Maintain strict confidentiality of patients records in accordance with the Health professions Council Code of Practice, the Professional code of conduct, the Data protection act 1984, department & Trust policy.
15. Keep written records & statistics and collect activity data in line with Department policy, Trust & Department of Health requirements and Professional code of conduct.
16. Awareness of and adherence to Departmental and Trust policies and procedures e.g. equal opportunities, diversity and health & safety.
17. To ensure effective risk management at team level by accident/incident reporting, assessing and controlling risk and ensuring residual risks are added to the Trust register.

Leadership and Management

1. Participate in and lead on clinical audit/ research programmes, in relation to own specialist area and disseminate and publish the results as appropriate
2. Provide effective guidance, supervision and leadership to students and junior staff members for whom you have a direct responsibility. This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation where appropriate.
3. Ensure that your own practice and that of students under your supervision meet the required professional standards of Dietetic practice.
4. To demonstrate continuous professional development through active participation in and facilitation of Journal Clubs, Professional Update sessions. Attend and contribute to regional, national and international specialist dietetic study days, meeting and conferences.
5. All staff will be regularly assessed on their knowledge, skills and behaviour, and application of all aspects of the job description, in line with the Trusts Personal Development Review (PDR) process.

Clinical Skills

1. To act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.
2. Further professional knowledge will have been gained through accredited courses workshops, study and in house training programmes.
3. To be responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/patients.
4. To be able to initiate referrals to other health professional specialist services and agencies.
5. To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence-based practice, literature and peer review.
6. To directly prescribe and modify nutritional supplements/feeds based on nutritional status and to inform the medical team, nurses and GPs as required.
7. To act as a resource for other members of the multidisciplinary team on paediatric and neonatal nutrition and attend appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.
8. To provide evidenced based information, advice and education to relatives, carers and other professionals to promote understanding of the aims of dietetic intervention and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care.

1. Liaise with colleagues regarding patients who require further dietetic care ensuring a seamless transfer of care within the organisation and to agencies/departments external to Waltham Forest

1. To provide a highly specialist Dietetic service to Waltham Forest community, respite care and learning difficulties. This includes attending meetings and case conferences. This will involve nutritional assessment of patients, including the calculation of nutritional requirements based on the interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometry and clinical condition and will result in the formulation of a diet therapy treatment plan.

Computer/Administration

1. To be computer literate and encourage implementation of the Trusts IM&T Strategy.
2. To ensure accurate recording of actions, updating of patient records and maintenance of confidentiality at all times.
3. To take part, and assist, in the planning and administration relating to day to day running of the caseload.
4. To access and operate a variety of computer data bases and information systems daily for purposes including electronic communication with an extensive range of staff and relevant professional bodies, researching specialised information, extracting patient information and creating documents for presentations, letters and audits.
5. To be competent in the use of information technology including the formulation of databases for research and audit purposes as well as the use of nutritional packages for assessment of patients nutritional requirements and dietary adequacy.

Communication

1. To have a wide range of knowledge in approaches to communicating and managing patient care.
2. To be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads within the Trust.
3. To be able to communicate complex patient related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.
4. Participate in the review and development of clinical policies and identifies improvements to service provision.
5. To counsel and educate paediatric patients and their carers on complex dietary interventions or enteral feeding as required, ensuring compliance with dietary treatment.

1. To contribute to the discharge planning of patients going home on artificial nutritional support, liaising with the childrens home care team.
2. To maintain good communication with hospital and community departments and services and ensure safe discharge into the community, particularly for children discharged home on enteral tube feeds.
3. To communicate highly complex nutritional and/or medical information effectively to ensure patient understanding of their condition and treatment. To tailor communication to the needs of different groups and use available resources to meet the differing needs of the population e.g. ethnic minorities, hearing and visually impaired and physical disabilities.
4. To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of patients and their carers in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of their condition and implications of the same.
5. To facilitate lifestyle change and health behaviour modification using highly advanced interpersonal communication skills, using a variety of techniques including motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural techniques.

1. To undertake teaching to patient and carer groups within a community setting using a variety of teaching methods and resources.
2. To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service, leading the MDT where necessary.
3. Maintain accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date documentation, in line with legal and departmental requirements and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters.

Training

1. To act as mentor to students, providing effective education, facilitating their development and promoting high standards of nursing care.
2. Ensure students are actively supported to enable them to achieve their learning needs.
3. To ensure own continued professional development and support a culture of lifelong learning in self and others.
4. To undertake, and assist, in the planning of own mandatory training and workshops.
5. To undertake a regular appraisal, developing a personal development plan that includes clinical competencies reflecting the health needs of the local population and relates to Trust strategy.
6. To support new staff and their integration within the team.
7. To support training as part of the role including changes to professional development and implementation of new policies and guidelines.
8. Participate in and support others with clinical supervision.
9. To provide specialist advice, teaching and training to other health professionals regarding the nutrition and dietetic management of patients.
10. Provide training to other health care professionals within and external to the Trust, including GPs, junior doctors, specialist nurses and AHPs (SALT).

Person Specification

Essential

Essential

• Band 6 experience
• Paediatric experience
• Experience within the NHS
• Experience of mentoring staff and managing students

Desirable

• One or more BDA paediatric modules
• Experience within a community setting
• Experience of writing clinical pathways/SOP
• Knowledge of audit or evaluation

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Address

Chingford Health Centre

York Road

Chingford

E4 8LF

Employer's website

https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)