Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dynamic, enthusiastic, hardworking and motivated Dietitian, with experience in UGI cancer, to join our friendly and welcoming team of Dietitians and Dietetic Assistants.

The successful applicant to this new role will be continuing the work already underway in implementing the Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance Optimal Oesophago-Gastric Pathway and provision of nutritional care to those with other UGI cancers.

This is a new and expanding service so you will be instrumental in developing Dietetic pathways, including for those with a palliative diagnosis. You will continue work already underway with establishing systems for assessing, monitoring and measuring outcomes, providing high quality, evidence based advice and education to our patients, continuing work on identifying local services to support patients and exploring and implementing processes for the UGI Rapid Diagnostic Service.

You will be working closely with the UGI Cancer Nurse Specialists and the wider multi-disciplinary teams within the hospital and at the specialist centres, as well as having local Dietetic Assistant and Admin support. We have another Advanced UGI Cancer Dietitian in the team so you would work jointly with them to deliver and develop the service.

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant will be a good team player but be able to work individually as well, being flexible, reliable, and conscientious, self-motivated and forward thinking as well as having excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Comprehensive clinical dietetic knowledge and recent clinical experience particularly in complex enteral feeding, use of modified diets and fluids and managing effects of anti-cancer treatments are essential.

Teaching skills, experience of multi-disciplinary team working and experience in and enthusiasm for service improvement and clinical audit are vital. Reporting on nutritional outcomes will be required.

Our philosophy is to keep the patient at the heart of everything we do. We look for people who are willing to go the extra mile, not because they are asked to, but because they are committed to being part of a healthcare team.

The successful candidate will:

• Deliver a high standard of evidence based care
• Be confident in their assessment and decision making
• Participate in the discharge planning process
• Supervise Dietetic Assistants, Band 5 and 6 Dietitians and students on clinical placement
• Have significant postgraduate experience as a band 6/7 Dietitian
• Have the ability to work flexibly and adaptably to changing working patterns
• Have a working knowledge of a broad range of conditions with proven clinical skills or a keen interest in training in this specialist area

About us

St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside and one of the few in the country to achieve OUTSTANDING rated by the Care Quality Commission.

We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of circa 360,000 and provide tertiary services across the North West, North Wales, and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit.

Our '5 Star Patient Care' strategy is at the heart of what we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time.

Our latest achievements include:

• Acute Trust of the Year HSJ Awards November 2019
• Trust rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• Best acute Trust in the North West for quality of care (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
• Best place to work in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
• Awarded National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for our Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

In the NHS Staff Survey 2021 the Trust scored the highest marks in the North West for the following areas:

• Standard of care
• Best place to work
• Care of patients being the Trust's priority
• Staff engagement
• Staff morale
• Compassionate & inclusive
• Providing safe environments for staff

Please see attached Wellbeing & Benefits booklet for more information on our benefits for staff. Accessible version available upon request.

Job description

Job responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

• To work within Trust clinical guidelines, HCPC and Registrant Body guidelines and to have a working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor own and others quality of practise against these
• To work in secondary care in a variety of hospital settings and the patients own homes.
• To demonstrate as appropriate to role highly developed physical skills for assessment and treatment of patients eg dexterity, co-ordination, palpatory and other senses.
• To deputise for senior staff in leading specific team.

CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• To communicate complex patient and service-related information effectively to Health and Wellbeing and local authority colleagues and third sector agencies.
• Use complex communication skills and knowledge when working with patients, their families and other provider agencies.
• To involve the patient and the family/carers in all relevant discussions about their management and decisions that are made about treatment techniques and facilitating patient involvement in the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of the service.
• To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• Delivering high level and complex triage, clinical assessment, diagnostics, treatment, and evaluation of the needs within the trust.
• Providing leadership; promoting a learning culture for colleagues and other agencies; leading service innovations and demonstrating high level problem solving.
• Ensuring excellence in service delivery through personal and service development, underpinned by evidence-based practice and research, embedded in the quality assurance agenda.
• Driving innovation; managing the change process to ensure your service continues to be flexible and proactive to reflect the needs of the trust.
• To triage patients with complex needs.
• To undertake complex clinical assessments of patients/ service users within sphere of advanced practice.
• To determine a clinical diagnosis and make high level decisions regarding appropriate treatment/ care plans.
• Implement complex care/ interventions according to clinical need.
• Evaluate complex care/ interventions based on evidence from clinical outcomes and best practice.
• To provide advanced clinical advice, support and training to patients/ service users, families, carers, and professional colleagues to improve their journey and their health and wellbeing.
• To be professionally accountable for all aspects of own work including the management of patients in your care.
• Registered practitioners who are non-medical prescribers are accountable for their prescribing activities by ensuring they are aware of their Professional accountability and any restrictions or special considerations in their prescribing practice.
• To develop and maintain the high-level clinical skills required to work as an advanced practitioner.

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

• 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.
• To collect appropriate data and statistics for the use in the review of the service delivery.
• To use appropriate information technology skills for communication when required.

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSBILITIES

• To deliver relevant, evidence-based training to patients, families, carers and trust staff.
• To provide specific training as required to the patient, family, carers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team on the clinical and therapeutic management of an individual to support their health and wellbeing.
• To supervise and performance manage a range of clinical and non-clinical staff (including students) as required to do so. Considering the breadth of knowledge, skills and experience held and required.
• To attend and contribute to local and national conferences and special interest groups within sphere of practice.
• To maintain own CPD by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments, and incorporate them as necessary into your work, supporting other staff with their CPD.

LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Delivering change within sphere of practice, when and where indicated, to improve service delivery.
• Influencing, motivating, supporting, and enabling others to contribute towards the effectiveness and success of the trust.
• To provide high level advice and guidance in working with colleagues locally to ensure best practice across all disciplines in the assessment, treatment, and long-term management of patients/ service users within sphere of practice.
• To identify innovations and lead the implementation of new working practices in conjunction with patients/ service users, health, wellbeing, local authority and third sector partners.
• To take responsibility for their own high level and complex decision making and the decisions of their team which effect service delivery.

CLINICAL GOVERNANCE, RESEARCH & AUDIT

• Registered Practitioners are required to evidence maintenance of their registration with the relevant regulatory body and work to their Code of Professional Conduct.
• To benchmark current service delivery against local and national clinical guidelines and standards of care.
• To lead on current best practice, based on the bench marking outcomes.
• To translate local and national guidelines and train staff to ensure they have the skills and knowledge required to deliver effective services.
• To measure and evaluate own work and current practices through the use of evidence-based projects, audit, research, statistical information and outcome measures and lead others in doing so.
• To network with practitioner colleagues within the trust and across the Northwest and Nationally, to learn together and share good practice.
• To interpret and implement quality assurance practices within own work situation.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics
• HCPC registration
• Clinical Educators Certificate

Desirable

• Post Grad accredited study e.g., MSc in relevant health studies

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Advanced clinical knowledge relevant to the care environment and evidence of evidence-based practise in relevant health setting
• Awareness of own strengths and limitations
• Knowledge of relevant national policies and guidance and relevant assessment tools
• Experience of leadership of a team including change management
• Evidence of effective working within an MDT
• Experience of Service development
• Demonstrate experience of problem-solving approaches
• Audit and research in a clinical area
• Demonstrates continuous Professional Development

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of measuring and reporting on outcome measures

Skills

Essential

• Demonstrates ability to motivate team performance to achieve objectives
• Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines
• Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
  
  409-5253222