Inpatient Mental Health Dietitian

This development post sits in the inpatient mental health dietetic team of Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, covering mental health and learning disability services. The core work is specialist dietetic assessment and treatment for people with severe or complex mental health needs or learning disabilities, alongside nutrition training for staff and work with catering on hospital food standards. Working 30 hours a week, the post holder carries a designated caseload and works autonomously under senior clinician oversight, progressing from Band 5 to Band 6. Applicants need HCPC registration and post-registration experience in acute or community settings.

What the job involves

• Provide specialist dietetic intervention for service users with severe or complex mental health needs and/or learning disabilities (80% of time)
• Provide evidence-based dietetic assessment and intervention to optimise outcomes and recovery
• Deliver a Trust-wide nutrition and dietetic service for mental health and learning disability, working autonomously with lead dietitian supervision
• Work alongside the Specialist Mental Health Dietitian across older adults, working age adults, recovery units and the 8-bed learning disability unit, including accepting referrals, MDT attendance and follow-on care…
• Plan and deliver nutrition training for staff, catering colleagues and patient groups, and support ward promotional weeks
• Work with catering services so provisions meet national hospital food standards
• Provide clinical supervision and support to dietetic students
• Carry out delegated tasks in policy and service development reviews
• Assess, plan, deliver and evaluate patient-centred care programmes
• Undertake individual dietary assessments and produce specialist 1-1 treatment plans
• Document patient information in line with Trust records policy, BDA code of conduct and HCPC standards
• Take part in clinical governance, audit, service improvement, innovation and research

What’s required

Qualifications

• Degree or postgraduate diploma in Dietetics
• Evidence of postgraduate training, learning and development

Registration & licences

• HCPC registration

Experience

• Post-registration experience in acute and/or community settings
• Practice educator training and experience, or supervising students and dietetic assistants
• Range of clinical specialities seen in practical training or acute dietetic service
• Experience developing and delivering training to healthcare professionals and service users

Nice to have

• Membership of the British Dietetic Association
• Experience of working in mental health settings