Highly Specialist Paediatric DietitianBand 7, Term time only - 7.5 hours per week

We are looking forward for an experienced, motivated and enthusiastic Band 7 Dietitian to provide support for Perseid Special Schools.

The post holder will provide a highly specialist dietetics service for children and young people with severe and complex learning difficulties in Perseid special schools, in accordance with the Service Level Agreement for Sutton Health and Care Alliance.

They will contribute to the development of the special schools dietetics service for children and young people. They will plan and provide highly specialist dietetics assessment, advice and treatment to a defined caseload of children and young people with severe and complex needs.

Proposed interview date: TBC

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide a highly specialist dietetics service for children and young people with severe and complex learning difficulties in Perseid special schools, in accordance with the Service Level Agreement for Sutton Health and Care Alliance.

They will contribute to the development of the special schools dietetics service for children and young people. They will plan and provide highly specialist dietetics assessment, advice and treatment to a defined caseload of children and young people with severe and complex needs. They will work in partnership with the children and young people, their families and with other professions and agencies, including school staff and the wider health team, to reduce the impact of these difficulties on the children's and young people's social and emotional development, their learning and their ability to participate in daily life.

They will work autonomously and without direct supervision and be accountable for their own actions.

About us

Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (ESTH) provides a range of medical services to approximately 500,000 people living across south west London and north east Surrey.

We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country as well as some poorer areas. Together, with our NHS colleagues in Surrey, Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve.

Sutton Health and Care (SHC) was an innovative joint venture between local partner health and social care organisations, which sees community services fully integrated to support the delivery of a new model of care for the people of Sutton. Hosted by ESTH, the model ensures the breaking down of traditional organisational barriers to enable the provision of care that is wrapped around the patient.

We pride ourselves in having a highly dedicated team and offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment with a wide range of staff benefits and development opportunities. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our vision and values and can play a crucial role in our ongoing achievements.

Job description

Job responsibilities

General Duties

Be responsible for a clinical caseload of children and young people attending Perseid special schools as identified by the service specification, managing the defined caseload independently and prioritising own workload to ensure effective service provision

Provide expert advice to clients/parents/carers and clinicians regarding provision of nutritional intervention based on clinical evidence. This will involve nutritional diagnosis (interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometrics, clinical condition and diet history), the development of treatment plans (calculation of nutritional requirements and client centred goals) and prescription of dietary treatment and ACBS products

Provide appropriate dietetic service to children and young people attending Perseid schools who have complex special needs and/or enteral tube feeding

Be involved in planning the development of the dietetics service in liaison with the school management team and the Service Manager for Childrens Specialist Nursing and Therapies

Act as a resource to the SHC dietetics service and other agencies.

Clinical Responsibilities

Manage a specialist and highly complex clinical caseload as an autonomous practitioner

Use and demonstrate highly specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for complex case management and advise others on the same

Make appropriate differential diagnoses and highly specialist clinical decisions based on assessment findings

Make clinical decisions about the appropriate and safe administration of enteral nutrition to the client or recommendations as to alternative nutrition support

Develop clear care plans and pathways based on best practice and to update these according to departmental standards

Write reports reflecting highly specialist knowledge according to department standards

Provide appropriate highly specialist intervention based on evidence based practice and to evaluate therapy using outcome measures

Support other staff within the school regarding the management and care of clients with nutritional/dietetic needs

Demonstrate skills in dealing with complex issues to generate appropriate strategies of caseload management

Interpret information received concerning medical and social history to ensure expert advice is given in a person centred, age and culturally specific way

Be highly skilled in communicating sensitive, complex condition related information to clients, carers, families and members of the multidisciplinary team and other professions

Advise and liaise with nursing staff, catering staff and other members of the multidisciplinary team concerning the dietary needs of children and young people in Perseid schools

Be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate

Work within defined department and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct

Participate in student placements as appropriate

Contribute to interagency/multidisciplinary team building

Adapt practice to meet individual clients circumstances

Provide mentoring to more junior dietitians

Assist in the support of students from other professional groups as appropriate

Assist with the identification of training needs within the team

Participate in the development and delivery of specialist training in area of clinical expertise

Develop the ability to target training (formal and informal) appropriately to the needs of course participants

Maintain up to date and accurate case notes in line with BDA professional standards and local Trust policies

Share information with others, observing data protection guidelines

Monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate

Be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained including equipment loaned to clients.

Management Responsibilities/Professional Leadership

Assist the Service Manager in planning and providing the commissioned dietetics input to clients attending Perseid schools, including attendance at appropriate meetings, developing guidelines and protocols and review service provision

Keep the Service Manager updated with service provision issues and report promptly any untoward incidences, clinical or non-clinical, cooperating with any investigation undertaken

Actively review efficacy of service delivery and facilitate setting up of new standards or amendment of existing ones, in close liaison with the Service Manager

Actively contribute to formulating policies for specialist area and proposals for general service changes

Support the development of the dietetics service in the special schools, facilitating development and implementation of effective client/care pathways and outcomes for clients in conjunction with the Service Manager

Keep up to date with the Department and Trust standards and policies and facilitate dissemination of this knowledge to colleagues

Develop good working relationships with multidisciplinary teams, outside agencies and voluntary agencies to ensure the professionalism and service delivery are maintained

Education, Training and Personal Development

To offer support and supervision, as needed, to dietitians within the team

Be responsible for design and delivery of training/education for families and school staff to ensure understanding and need for treatment advised

Be aware of changing trends in treatment and promote evidence-based practice within own specialist area of work in order to provide the highest standard of care to service users. To ensure the packages of care offered by the department reflect these standards

Participate in clinical audit, service development activities and research programmes as required

Carry out continual professional development as identified through supervision and PDR, including in-service training and courses as agreed

Participate in own supervision on a regular basis and work towards objectives set in PDR

Take responsibility for identifying suitable courses and training programmes to enhance your own professional development, keeping abreast of new developments within relevant clinical fields

Actively participate in delivering in-service training, tutorials, individual training sessions, external training and peer review. To demonstrate own willingness to learn

Participate in the clinical education of students on placement

Comply with the SHC/ESTH and dietetics service mandatory training requirements

Be actively involved in peer support and relevant specialist section support groups.

Clinical Governance

Ensure that statistics and notes are kept in accordance with local and national policies

Work in accordance with the standards and policies issued by the British Dietetics Association, Health and Care Professions Council, the Trust and speech and language therapy department and to meet legal requirements

Keep up to date with clinical developments and changing trends in practice, including National Service Frameworks and Special Interest Groups

Be responsible for the safe use of equipment by other staff and outside agencies

Be involved in monitoring and evaluation of dietetic intervention as part of the multidisciplinary service and to liaise as necessary with other departments/disciplines and with the wider dietetics service

Undertake specific projects as necessary, support clinical governance and quality initiatives and assist in developing audit tools within Integrated Therapy.

Managing People and Resources

Ensure that satisfactory systems are in place to maintain effective communication within your area and be responsible for ensuring that any Trust communication systems are utilised

Observe and comply with the Trusts policies and procedures for health and safety ensuring the environment in which you and your staff work is safe, clean and tidy

Comply with standard infection control precautions to prevent or minimise the spread of micro-organisms and communicable diseases to clients, staff and surrounding community

To observe and continually promote equal opportunities in compliance with the Trusts policies on Equality and Diversity and Dignity at Work

• Ensure that benefits to clients are maximised through careful economical and appropriate use of NHS resources including equipment, property, money, time etc.

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Degree/Diploma in Dietetics
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Registration with the British Dietetic Association
• Postgraduate training in paediatrics

Desirable

• Evidence of attendance at short courses to develop specialist skills

Experience

Essential

• Highly specialist knowledge/experience in paediatric dietetics
• Knowledge/experience in the use of evidence based assessment and treatment approaches and practices
• Evidence of multidisciplinary and multiagency working
• Understanding of principals of clinical governance
• Evidence of use of prioritisation, clinical risk assessments and outcome measures
• Experience if training others both formally and informally

Desirable

• Experience of setting up new projects/initiatives

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Advanced skills in the assessment and treatment of clients with nutritional conditions
• Ability to apply dietetic skills across a range of clinical conditions
• Specialist knowledge of clinical practice and issues relating to the delivery of a dietetic service
• Understanding of the differing needs of clients in various stages of growth
• Knowledge of National Service Frameworks and their relevant dietetic practice
• Knowledge of standards of record keeping and understanding of the principals of clinical governance
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills including observation, listening and empathy
• Good organisation/time management skills and ability to prioritise workload effectively
• Good analytical, problem solving and reflection skills
• Good IT skills

Desirable

• Knowledge of risk assessment for this client group
• Insight into issues arising from the local health economy

Other Relevant Requirements

Essential

• Ability to work automously
• Ability to work as a team member and promote collaborative multidisciplinary and multiagency approach
• Ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the role
• Ability to support and develop other team members
• Ability to take initiative
• Ability to delegate tasks
• Assertive, enthusiastic and demonstrates strong client focus
• Evidence of own self development through appraisal, CPD and portfolio
• Abi
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