Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian

Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) is one of the largest community healthcare organisations in London and Hertfordshire, providing our services to diverse communities/boroughs in 11 London Boroughs - Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, Merton, Richmond, Wandsworth, Westminster - and Hertfordshire. We are rated Good by the Care Quality Commission and are ranked among top NHS employers. Community healthcare is our focus and our passion. We champion the role of community health professionals to make sure our patients get great care closer to home.

Job overview: The Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian will be a senior member of the Paediatric Dietetics Community team and will use advanced assessment and diagnostic skills to care for patients and advise primary care health professionals on future care. The post holder will be an autonomous practitioner, collaborating with colleagues in primary care, community, and hospital settings as appropriate.

Main duties of the job:

• Provide assessment regarding effective nutrition and hydration intake in children (including those who have a feeding tube in situ) and young people in Merton.
• Support and advise parents/carers in maintaining effective nutritional and/or fluid intake for children and young people including those who have a feeding tube in situ, who have additional needs or are seen in clinics.
• Advise on the use of supplements, specialist feeds as required, dietary changes, allergies and intolerances etc liaising with the child’s GP regarding prescription of feed etc as necessary.
• Liaise with manufacturers of nutritional products including supplements, specialist feeds, thickeners with the SLT etc used by the service.
• Develop enteral feeding regimes for non-orally fed children in collaboration with parents and other professionals.
• Provide training, education, and development in relevant areas for parents, schools and professionals as appropriate.
• Make appropriate and timely referrals to other professionals and liaise with other agencies as necessary to support effective planning for children.

Working for our organisation: Just as we care about our patients’ well-being, we care about yours! We can offer you:

• A comprehensive induction into the community service followed by a local induction to introduce you to the role.
• Car lease scheme (only available for Band 5 and up).
• Flexible working options.
• Annual travel card loan.
• Training, support and development in your career.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities: Please refer to Job Description and Person Specification for outline of skills, knowledge and experience required.

Person specification:

• Qualifications: Valid UK Health and Care Professions Council Registration. Post graduate experience in Paediatric Home Enteral Feeding. Membership of the British Dietetic Association. Member of Specialist Interest Group related to Paediatrics. Supervisory skills training. Post-registration training in Behaviour Change.
• Experience: Post-registration and previous experience in a range of paediatric clinical areas including home enteral feeding, faltering growth, food allergy, gastroenterology. Experience in training/teaching healthcare professionals. Experience in the training of student Dietitians. Experience in conducting audits and / or research. Experience in using behaviour change techniques. Experience in contributing to policy, procedures, guidelines and clinical standards development. Experience working within community dietetics. Experience in supervising others. Experience of recommending the use of oral nutritional supplements in line with NICE guidelines and IMAP criteria. Knowledge of current policy and political drivers impacting on public health and the NHS.
• Skills: Advanced skills in the assessment and treatment of paediatric patients with nutrition related disease. Advanced knowledge of up-to-date dietetic practice, including paediatric dietetic guidelines, evidence base and recommendations. Highly developed communication and reports writing skills, in verbal and written format. Knowledge of national policies and guidelines in the area of paediatric dietetics, including home enteral feeding, food allergy, paediatric appropriate prescribing.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification. Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job. Interview arrangements will be communicated via email so please check your email regularly following the closing date.

At CLCH we appreciate and are proud of the diversity in the communities we serve and the workforce we employ. Applications are open and welcome to anyone, regardless of your age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religion, and disability. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.