Senior Specialist Dietitian in Luton

This is a Band 6 Senior Dietitian role based at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital. The successful individual will provide a specialist dietetics service to patients on the surgical and general wards. This role also involves cover across a range of acute clinical areas within the trust.

Main duties of the job:

• To manage a complex caseload of surgical and general inpatients. This may include ITU, respiratory, gastroenterology and oncology.
• To undertake comprehensive nutritional assessments for patients, including the collection and interpretation of dietary history, to inform clinical decision making.
• To develop, implement and evaluate individualised dietetic care plans and feeding regimens using evidence based practice, national guidance and established departmental protocols.
• To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients within your own scope of practice and organise this effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical priorities and use of time.
• To work as an autonomous practitioner by planning and prioritising own workload according to locally agreed priority coding and supporting dietetic assistant practitioners and less experienced dietitians to do the same.
• To undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients including those with complex presentations/multi pathologies and use clinical reasoning skills to set nutritional goals for each patient.
• To ensure adequate monitoring and review of patients.
• To co‐ordinate appropriate follow up, discharge arrangements and outward referrals to other services in order to facilitate the safe and timely discharge/transfer of care.
• To be responsible for safe discharge planning including co‐ordination of patients requiring home enteral feeding.

About us:

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics‐led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values:

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience – we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarise yourself with all requirements of the job.

Job responsibilities:

Please see attached job description and personal specification for full details of job and requirements.

Person Specification:

Qualifications:

• Degree or equivalent in Nutrition & Dietetics
• HCPC registration
• BDA member

Experience:

• Experience of dietetics across a wide range of areas
• Experience managing surgical patients including undertaking comprehensive assessments and creating dietetic plans for new and review patients
• Experience working as part of a team and within an MDT
• Experience managing own workload
• Experience of clinical triage and assessment of referrals
• Experience of safe discharge planning including those requiring home enteral feeding
• Current or previous experience within the NHS setting (either through training or employment)
• Experience managing ITU patients including undertaking comprehensive assessments and creating dietetic plans for new and review patients
• Experience of contributing to the development and updating of policies, guidelines, patient information and other resources

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of general dietetics including relevant policies and guidelines
• Specialist knowledge of the management of surgical patients
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex and specialist medical and nutritional information
• Ability to provide specialised nutritional/dietetic information to medical staff or groups of health or other professionals
• Knowledge of the dietetic management of patients requiring parenteral nutrition
• Specialist knowledge of the management of ITU patients

Skills:

• Communication skills and ability to adapt communication style as required to a wide range of people
• IT skills including familiarity with Microsoft Office software
• Prioritisation skills to plan work on a day to day basis and look ahead
• Time management and organisation skills in order to manage own workload effectively and meet deadlines
• Ability to work as part of a team and within an MDT

Disclosure and Barring Service Check:

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.