We are currently welcoming applications for a full time Band 5 Dietitian to work within our Mental Health Services.

You would be joining our specialist mental health dietetic team working within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust based at the Maudsley Hospital, in Denmark Hill, London.

Who are we looking for?

You will be a Dietitian who has a passion for providing excellence in the nutritional and dietetic care and who wants to work in mental health Dietetics.

You must be a qualified Dietitian registered with the UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to be eligible for this post.

We welcome applications from newly qualified Dietitians as well as those with some prior working experience within the field of dietetics.

Key to this role will be providing evidence based dietary treatment to support the prevention and management of physical health conditions and promote recovery of mental wellness in service users, who have a mental health diagnosis.

The successful candidate will receive regular supervision in keeping with experience and be supported by a knowledgeable and friendly wider team.

Main duties of the job

About the role

The post includes inpatient and outpatient clinic work offered both virtually and in-person. This involves seeing working age and older adult service users on inpatient wards, rehabilitation and special care units. The majority of wards are within the Maudsley Hospital. Other services are the Ladywell Unit at Lewisham University Hospital, Heather Close Rehabilitation Service and an older adult service, Greenvale Special Care Unit.

Referrals include under-nutrition, underweight and re-feeding syndrome, and over-nutrition and metabolic syndrome linked to mental ill health and psychiatric medications, especially antipsychotics. Also, food allergies / food intolerances, gut issues and specific food likes and dislikes resulting in fewer foods eaten with risk of nutritional deficiencies and disordered eating.

The post requires the ability to work with individuals and groups. Professionalism and excellent communication skills are key. We use motivational interviewing techniques to explore and bring about behavioural change and we are incorporating trauma informed care into our work.

We support all our staff to develop and shine as individuals and to work towards their career aspirations. Training is offered in all areas of mental health via regular supervision, annual appraisal and agreeing a personal development programme and opportunities include Internal and external courses, professional team meetings and shadowing of colleagues.

About us

About Us

We are a dynamic, pro-active and inclusive dietetics team and you would join us as an integral member of our team. We provide specialist mental health dietetic services in the community via dietetic clinics for working age adults. And our inpatient services span psychiatric intensive care, acute, and rehabilitation wards, forensic medium and low secure services, older people's services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services as well as National and Specialist Services. Our team includes adult and CAMHS specialist eating disorder dietitians, who work within our SLaM Eating disorders services providing dietetic care across all settings.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Overall Job Purpose:

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details.

To provide a kind, caring and responsive, evidence-based clinical nutrition and dietetics service to working age and older adult service users, who have a mental health diagnosis, on inpatient wards, dietetic outpatient clinics and rehabilitation and special care units.

To be an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, representing and advocating for excellence in nutrition and dietetic care for all service users within the clinical remit.

Support the service by providing nutrition knowledge, dietary advice and training for staff from a variety of other disciplines, which is sound, evidence based and up to date.

Raise awareness, understanding and effective implementation of the trust nutrition policy.

To collaborate with the dietetic team and other multidisciplinary team members to support, develop and implement quality improvement projects.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• HCPC Registered Dietitian
• Relevant Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics
• Membership of British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional indemnity insurance

Desirable

• Student Training course
• Membership of relevant professional special interest groups i.e BDA Specialist Mental Health Group

Experience

Essential

• Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in nutrition support
• Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in weight management and metabolic syndrome

Desirable

• Experience of working with challenging client groups, for example those ambivalent to treatment, or those with communication difficulties. This may be in a field other than dietetics.
• Experience of working with older adults, who have Dementia

Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent overall knowledge of clinical nutrition and dietetic care.
• Excellent knowledge of underweight, under-nutrition, re-feeding syndrome and it's management
• Excellent knowledge of overweight, obesity and metabolic syndrome and its management
• Knowledge of the cultural diversity of the client population, in particular cooking and eating practices

Desirable

• Knowledge of clinical dietetics in mental health, including side effects of psychiatric medication
• Knowledge of the challenges of working in a mental health care environment
• Knowledge of nutrition in ageing

Skills / Abilities

Essential

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Skills in counselling, motivation, behavioural change, stages of change
• Able to build rapport and effective working relationships with service users and relatives, who may be distressed or challenging.
• Able to facilitate therapeutic and educational group sessions for service users and staff
• Able to apply the dietetic care process appropriately and effectively

Desirable

• Experience working on Quality Improvement Projects or in Research

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8AZ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-CLI-6810310