We are looking for a Band 6 Dietitian to work in the rewarding specialism of adults with a learning disability. We also welcome applications from Band 5 Dietitians, with some clinical experience, who are looking for a role to support their progression to Band 6 within an agreed timeframe. As part of this role, you will work alongside an experienced Dietitian to deliver a cohesive service.

People with a learning disability are more likely to live with physical and mental ill health and have lifestyles which lead to poor health. They are less likely to be included in health promotion initiatives, to take up health care services and have their nutritional issues noticed or managed.

Dietitians play a crucial role by understanding the nutritional needs of people with a learning disability and work with them, their family/carers and professionals to improve their nutritional health. This leads to reduced malnutrition, appropriate weight management and improved nutritional status. Dietitians provide individualised, holistic and evidence-based advice and translates this into practical information. They are aware of the medical, social and cultural situations of this patient group and support them to engage in healthy behaviours, to improve knowledge and skills. Dietitians workwith the multi-disciplinary team to raise awareness of nutritional risks affecting people with a learning disability, through education, training, and development of resources and local guidelines.

Main duties of the job

We work with a diverse population across Luton and Bedfordshire, offering a dietetic service to adults with a learning disability including, but not limited to, those who require home enteral tube feeding, oral nutrition support and weight management dietary advice.

This post can be part time or full time. As part of a full time post you will cover other caseloads within Adult Clinical Community Dietetic Team which may include:

• Adult home enteral tube feeding.
• The general and often complex home visit service working with patients and the people involved in their support system to maximise effectiveness.
• The general community clinic service covering a vast array of clinical conditions.

Our welcoming and supportive Nutrition and Dietetic Department provides a service across Luton and South Bedfordshire and includes Community Paediatrics, Diabetes and Prescribing Support. We are dedicated to personal development and encourage all staff to achieve their career aspirations. We support inter-team working and you will work closely with all members of the department to develop the service and your role. Learning opportunities are plentiful with department wide CPD programmes, clinical supervision and Trust and external training opportunities.

Our office is in Luton. There will be the opportunity, but not the expectation, for some home working. We are committed to maintaining a good work-life balance, therefore we welcome applicants for job shares and flexible working solutions.

About us

Rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There's one reason why our services are outstanding - and that's our amazing staff - who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.

Job description Job responsibilities

• To plan, deliver and evaluate the specialist dietetic services provided by the Adult Clinical Community Team.
• Delivery of services includes assessment, treatment and ongoing management of community patients including community-based inpatient units, care homes, clinics and domiciliary visiting including home enterally fed patients.
• To undertake comprehensive assessments of patients, including biochemistry, anthropometrics, clinical condition, diet history and social circumstances.
• To use advanced clinical reasoning skills to interpret data and implement appropriate patient centred nutritional aims and plans including timely onward referrals as appropriate.
• To utilise prioritisation skills and plan the day-to-day provision of dietetic services within your own caseload.
• To be responsible for the provision and development of dietetic services in your specialist areas across the Trust, and to be responsible for service change in those specialist areas in response to service requirements.
• To ensure your own nutrition and dietetic knowledge is up-to-date and evidence-based including the current developments for nutrition in community dietetics and within your specialist area.
• To give expert opinion on complex nutrition related issues where a number of social, ethical, psychological and medical factors have to be considered and where there may be conflicting ideas within the multidisciplinary team.
• To act as an autonomous practitioner to provide expert nutritional advice. This may involve seeking advice from peers within an outside the Trust.
• To be professionally and legally accountable and responsible for all aspects of your own work, including the management of patients in your care.
• To evaluate and review your own work and that of the service, seeking the views of others and adopting the principles of evidence based practice to ensure maintenance and development of clinical and professional standards
• To develop robust and evidence based policies and procedures to support service delivery.
• To provide educational activities, training and teaching for Dietitians, Dietetic Assistant Practitioners, Medical and Nursing staff and Allied Health Professionals.
• To write and update patient and professional literature.
• To carry out audit work within the department and your specialist areas.
• To work closely all teams within the department and in particular the Food First Team to support service development and delivery.
• To work independently and undertake lone working in the community.
• To provide training and supervision for student Dietitians, providing constructive feedback to support development.
• Undertaking and other Band 6 duties identified by the team as required for successful service delivery.
• To possess and utilise appropriate communication and counselling skills to enable highly complex dietary information to be delivered in an understandable form to patients and other healthcare professionals. This can include those with potentially life-threatening conditions where adherence is essential and using both verbal and written information.
• To possess and utilise developed motivational and behaviour change techniques to support patient compliance. This requires excellent communication skills including education, motivation, negotiation and empathy and where there are significant communication difficulties and barriers to acceptance and change. This may include the use of interpreters.
• To advise and liaise with catering staff, ward staff, clinic staff, carers and families concerning the complex dietary needs of patients.
• To actively and effectively contribute to ward rounds, case conferences and multidisciplinary meetings in order to provide expert dietetic advice to clinicians, patients and carers, and to negotiate an appropriate treatment pathway.
• To develop and deliver effective nutrition education at a level appropriate to the audience.
• To attend and actively participate in department and team meetings.

Person Specification Qualifications and Training Essential

• Degree or post graduate qualification in dietetics
• Registered with HCPC as a Dietitian
• Evidence of CPD in a range of clinical settings relevant to this post

Experience Essential

• Post-graduate work in dietetics in a clinical setting (hospital/community)

Skills Essential

• Ability to work flexibly as part of a team
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients in one-to-one and group situations
• Enthusiastic, self-motivated and willing to take responsibility and demonstrate initiative
• Time management skills and ability to prioritise and manage own caseload

Safeguarding Essential

• Ability to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults

Emotional Awareness Essential

• Aware of the range of emotions in self and others
• Demonstrates empathy for the concerns of others

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

448-BCHS-4748103-A