Clinical Lead Dietitian

If you are seeking a rare and rewarding opportunity as a Clinical Lead Dietitian within a forensic mental health service, this role offers the chance to develop both clinical and leadership skills in a supportive environment. Working in a forensic setting is unique, and you will be supported to build the specialist knowledge required.

The Forensic Services at St Bernard's Hospital, Ealing, include specialist women's and men's services across low and medium secure settings. You will join an established Occupational Therapy and Allied Health Professionals (AHP) team delivering physical healthcare. You will manage referrals and a caseload of service users requiring dietetic intervention, while leading projects to improve health and wellbeing and supervising a small dietetic team.

The wider AHP team includes occupational therapists, assistants, activity coordinators, recovery support workers, dietitians, speech and language therapists, and physiotherapists. You will be supported by the Head of Occupational Therapy and AHP and the Rehabilitation Lead, and will join a Trust-wide network of mental health dietitians for peer support and development.

As forensics is a specialist area, an open morning will be part of the recruitment process. You will meet staff and service users, learn about the service, and visit the site. The open morning and panel interview will take place on 16/04/2026 from 10:00-12:00, so please ensure full availability.

You will carry a clinical caseload, delivering a range of individual and group interventions to develop service users' skills and functional abilities in line with recovery-focused principles and practice. This role offers the opportunity to develop both clinical and leadership skills, with full training and support provided to help you succeed. Clear clinical models and pathways are in place to support service users as they move from acute wards into rehabilitation and onward to community living, with occupational performance central to readiness for each stage of recovery.

You will play a key role in optimising service users' physical health, ensuring they are able to benefit fully from available treatment options. You will also lead and contribute to service-wide initiatives that promote health and wellbeing, working collaboratively with AHP colleagues, catering, exercise, and primary healthcare teams.

The role includes opportunities to deliver training to staff on nutrition and nutritional screening. As part of a supportive AHP service, you will have access to a strong CPD programme, with shared learning and clinical excellence at its core. You will work closely with OT and rehabilitation staff, requiring strong leadership, mentoring, and coaching skills. Responsibilities include supervising dietetic team members, contributing to teaching programmes, and supporting student placements to help develop the future workforce.

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation. Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m. The Trust is rated as 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'. The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

• Qualifications
• Post graduate training to MSc level or equivalent in a relevant subject
• Registration with HCPC
• British Dietetic Association accredited course(s) in relevant specialist area
• Certificate in Food Hygiene (or willingness to undertake within agreed timescale)
• Trust training in Appraisal and Recruitment (or willingness to undertake within an agreed timescale)
• Member of the British Dietetic Association and the Specialist Mental Health Group
• BDA Clinical Supervisory Skills course
• Equivalent experience in relevant area. E.g. relevant level 7 courses, researcher role, quality improvement activity, leading service development, project management, strategic leadership, NICE involvement, service evaluation
• Experience
• Significant experience of supporting people with mental health conditions, learning disability or autism
• Significant understanding of the needs of service users with mental health conditions or learning disabilities or autism
• Substantial clinical experience in own service area
• Experience of leading quality improvement activities
• Experience of leading clinical governance activities including clinical audit
• Participation in research and development
• Substantial experience in clinical supervision of staff
• Experience of line management
• Experience of budget management
• Knowledge
• Specialist clinical knowledge in own service area
• Good understanding of national strategy, guidance and key standards in own specialist area and their application in practice
• Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act and their application in practice
• Clinical Governance and its application in practice
• Care Programme Approach and its application in practice
• Safeguarding and its application in practice
• Research and development methodology
• Skills
• Demonstrate effective Clinical leadership e.g. role modelling of values and behaviour, active listening, use of evidence base and implementation of standards, ability to make complex judgements synthesising information appropriately, including signposting.
• Communicate complex and sensitive information in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation
• Solve complex clinical problems
• Record complex information accurately and concisely and write reports
• Work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Manage own caseload, prioritise and delegate effectively
• Motivate and work positively and constructively with other members of the team
• Apply latest research evidence and evaluative thinking in practice
• Provide effective teaching, training and clinical supervision
• Use multimedia materials for presentations in professional settings
• Experience of participating in quality improvement activities, service development, and/or project management
• Clearly articulate the role of the Dietetic Service to wide and diverse range of people
• Other Requirements
• Able to work in accordance with the Trust Values and Behaviours
• Compassionate in meeting the needs of vulnerable people and their families and carers
• Able to engage with vulnerable people and work effectively in distressing and challenging circumstances
• Ability to work as part of a collective and compassionate leadership team understanding own and other's roles, engaging within your professional group and wider service
• Able to work flexibly and co-operatively as part of a team
• Able to use own initiative and make decisions independently as appropriate to the band
• Committed to continual quality and service improvement
• Committed to promoting a positive image of people with mental health conditions
• Committed to promoting a positive image of the Dietetic Service.
• Self-aware and committed to professional and personal development. Able to reflect and critically appraise own performance and accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£53,751 to £60,651 a year per annum inclusive of 15% HCAS (Outer)