Joint Lead Acute Nutrition Support Dietitian

at  Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity for a joint role as Acute Dietetic Team Lead within a friendly, forward-thinking and supportive team:
To work as clinical lead for acute dietetic services and to take the lead in facilitating a team approach for the provision of acute dietetic care
To undertake a lead role in co-ordinating, developing, delivering and evaluating an evidence-based service across the acute setting.
The post holder will work with the Dietetic Manager to ensure services are responsive to the needs of patients and referrers. The service must be both effective and efficient within available resources and abide by the professional code of conduct and healthcare professions council regulations.
The post holder will work as a highly specialist autonomous Dietitian, responsible for an identified highly complex clinical caseload covering agreed specialist areas such as ITU / HDU, Gastro/surgical and Dietetic provision for the Nutrition Team.
The post holder will function as an integral part of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) delivering expert advice on the patients’ nutritional status most appropriate therapeutic diet.
The post holder will lead the ward nutrition link nurse forum and work with the Specialist Nutrition nurses to ensure and promote excellent nutritional care
The post holder will be responsible for providing strategic advice and direction to acute specialist Dietetic services and for representing Dietetics at specialist acute service meetings
Act as an acute clinical team leader providing the day-to-day operational organisation for the acute dietetic services, advising the Dietetics Manager on the progress of service developments within areas of responsibility.
Provide the clinical focus for the acute dietetic services, leading by example and encouraging the highest standards of clinical performance, encouraging a strong base for evidence-based practice, keeping abreast of developments in the profession and encouraging others to do likewise.
Put the patient’s welfare at the forefront of the department’s existence and foster a positive image of the service by promoting patient satisfaction and maintaining standards of care.
Support an environment that encourages lifelong learning through guidance clinical supervision and structured appraisal according to Trust Policy.
Assist with the organisation of the day-to-day allocation of staff across the service within the post’s remit and liaise with management in relation to the flexibility of staff allocation at times of shortages
Conduct Return to Work interviews with agreed acute dietetic staff in line with Trust Policy and in close liaison with the Dietetic Manager.
Assist the Dietetic Manager in the overall co-ordination of staff’s leave in line with Trust Policies, ensuring continuity of care for patients and participating in developing staff cover plans
Assist the Dietetic Manager with the recruitment process of identified posts.
Our Mission is to provide outstanding care for people in ways which matter to them and to achieve this we ensure our values of Integrity, Respect, Teamwork and Excellence is at the core of everything we do.
We are a Trust that celebrates diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We would welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.
Dorchester has a lot to offer from stunning countryside and Blue Flag beaches to bustling Cities and award winning eateries. There are excellent road and transport links to Poole and Bournemouth, Southampton and London as well as a large number of sought after Ofsted rated schools.
For informal inquires you can also contact the Chief Dietitian, Raphaella Rookes on 07917 923223.
Responsibility for patients
As an autonomous practitioner to accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of highly complex acute inpatients demonstrating clinical specialisation and expertise.
To organise clinical role effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical priorities, use of time and appropriate opportunities to delegate work to members if the team.
To be professional and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work including the assessment and management of clinical risk for assessment and treatment modalities / interventions with own patients.
To ensure the highest standards of clinical care are achieved and support junior staff to do likewise.
To assess the patient’s capacity and understanding of treatment options, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
To undertake highly specialist nutritional assessment using specialist investigative and analytical skills including the interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometric and clinical parameters, including medication, and carrying out highly complex specialised nutritional calculations.
To formulate individualised management and treatment plans, using highly developed clinical reasoning, and utilising a wide range of highly specialist treatment skills and options to formulate a specialised programme of care including recommending the prescription of feeds and supplements.
To produce / revise treatment plans within a range of complex dietetic problems which require investigation, analysing and assessing.
To maintain up-to-date clinical knowledge of specialised prescribable dietetic products and medication to include drug-nutrient interactions and enteral feeding pump technology.
To have specialist communication skills and demonstrate these on a continual basis with patients and carers where needs are highly complex, sensitive, distressing or where patients / carers have barriers to communication.
To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service. This will include attending / leading case conferences and ensuring patients are discharged with the necessary equipment / adequate supplies of supplements.
To provide highly specialist advice, teaching and training to dietetic colleagues, nursing and medical staff, other MDT members and students, regarding the management of inpatients.
To develop high-quality, evidence-based patient information resources according to Trust policy
To support undergraduate dietetic students and dietetic apprentices within the Trust
Responsibility for policy and service development
To demonstrate a sound understanding of and adhere to all aspects of clinical governance within the Trust e.g. implementation of evidence-based practice, outcome measures, activities and personal development
To comply with all organisational departmental policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing and updating of them as needed
To 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
Responsibility for financial and physical resources
To take an active role in managing dietary resources and ensuring appropriate resources are available to meet the demands of the service.
To comply with departmental and organisational policies and procedures relating to the management and protection of physical and financial assets
Responsibility for staff
To support undergraduate dietetic students within the Trust.
To take a role in conjunction with the Student Dietitian placement facilitators in the organisation and training of undergraduate dietetics students.
To provide clinical leadership to acute dietetic personnel
To meet the Dietetic Manager regularly to receive management supervision and to review the acute service and identify areas for development and improvement
To ensure acute team staff (direct reports) participate in induction, probation and appraisal programmes, to ensure staff remain compliant with statutory and mandatory training
To monitor staff sickness absence and manage staff sickness according to policy
To delegate fairly and manage effectively the acute caseload within the capacity of the service, escalate appropriately to the Dietetic Manager
To jointly supervise the professional development of agreed acute dietetic staff with the Dietetic Manager. This will involve the organisation of induction and training programmes, undertaking appraisals, clinical supervision and mentoring staff through external courses.
To provide clinical supervision, training and support for acute dietetic staff and assist in their professional development.
Responsibility for Information Resources
To develop high quality evidence-based patient information and resources according to Trust Policy.
To fully comply with information governance policies and procedures and adhere to all data protection rules
Responsibility for Research and Development
In conjunction with the Dietetic Manager to ensure that audit and research is driven forward in the acute setting working constructively and collaboratively with MDT colleagues, ensuring Trust Policy is followed and that recommendations are implemented and embedded into practice.
To undertake the measurement and evaluation of own work and current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit and outcome measures. To make recommendations for change and ensure full implementation.
To develop, co-ordinate and deliver training in the acute setting to ensure effective use of established outcome measures and to investigate future measures as appropriate.
To act as a specialist resource regarding acute dietetic patient care for colleagues of all disciplines, through awareness of current research and evidence and disseminating this through informal discussion and formal presentations.
Planning and organisational skills
To take the lead in organising ward allocations and work distribution within the Acute Team.
Professional
To fulfil the requirements of the Health and Care Professions Council for professional practice.
To participate in appraisal and comply with the Personal Development Plan.
To be responsible for demonstrating own competency to practice at a highly specialist level through maintaining a portfolio which reflects Continuing Professional Development activities and personal development.
To demonstrate a sound understanding of and adhere to all aspects of Clinical Governance within the Trust, e.g. implementation
Physical effort
The role requires both ward and desk-based activities including general PC use and consultations in both ward and clinic room settings
The post holder may need to travel in the course of carrying out duties
Mental effort
The post-holder will need to demonstrate active listening and process complex clinical information during the day-to-day assessment and advising of patients with specialist medical conditions
Emotional effort
The post-holder will frequently (several times per week) deal both directly and indirectly with distressing and emotionally demanding clinical scenarios. For example, when supporting patients receiving ‘bad news’ and/or during the terminal phase of their illness
The post-holder will provide professional and pastoral support to the members of the acute team
Working conditions
The job sometimes involves exposure to unpleasant working conditions e.g. vomit, urine, diarrhoea, physical or verbal abuse.
The job requires that the post holder will work on site at Dorset County Hospita

Please refer the Job description for details