We are looking for a Dietitian to join our wonderful Specialist Mental Health Dietetic Team. You will need a relevant dietetic degree, current HCPC registration, previous experience working within the NHS, and at least 3 years clinical dietetic experience, including within mental health services and especially Forensic services where you will be our lead dietitian.
Your overall clinical dietetic expertise will need to be strong, and include managing refeeding risk, nutritional support, understanding and supporting working towards overcoming disordered eating and management of weight and metabolic syndrome with significant evidence of ongoing CPD in these areas.
We pro-actively promote evidence-based nutrition to support the recovery journey to mental wellness.We follow a motivational way of working in supporting behavioural change.
Excellent interpersonal skills, empathy, resilience, innovation and teamwork are all attributes we seek.
If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you!
Working autonomously to provide an empathetic, responsive and effective nutrition and dietetic assessment and treatment service, applying appropriate dietetic care pathways, for adults within the trust Forensic medium and low secure units and for adults and older adults within Croydon inpatient wards and outpatient clinics in the community.
In the role the post holder will lead and further develop the dietetic service within our Forensic inpatient services alongside and in collaboration with the MDT and all stakeholders.
Work collaboratively and innovatively as part of the Specialist mental health team, providing a comprehensive nutritional and clinical dietetic service for patients with a primary mental health diagnosis living in Southwark, Lambeth, Lewisham and Croydon, with the post holder fulfilling the Croydon remit. Most of the work is on inpatient wards. However, we also run outpatients clinics for service users who find accessing primary care challenging. Dietetic colleagues also work in CAMHS and National and Specialist inpatient Services, where there will be opportunities to shadow and cover.
As a team we work together to support KCL Dietetic students on placements.
We offer flexible working as part of our way of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Fridayin the time frames from7am to 7pm, giving you the very best of good work life balance. The majority of time spent in this role requires in-person working on site.
The team comprises 16 Dietitians and one Dietetic Assistant Practitioner. The dietitians have specialised in mental health dietetics and/or eating disorders. We are a welcoming and friendly team, who are supportive of one another and our MDT colleagues. We work collaboratively and innovatively, building upon the evidence base to advance dietetic practice within mental health, striving to always be at the fore front of mental health dietetics and to provide excellence in dietetic care. Our dietetic offices are located at the Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospitals.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
Overall Job Purpose and responsibilities include:
Job Purpose:
· Lead the Croydon and Forensics dietetics service for the team, by ongoing development of these services, care pathways and materials for the dietetics service and contributing to dietetic and MDT service development and evaluation within the remit.
· Work as an autonomous dietetic practitioner to carry a complex inpatient and outpatient caseload, using evidence-based and client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions in service users, who have a primary mental health diagnosis and who have acute and/or chronic medical conditions requiring complex dietetic interventions.
· Liaise with Specialist Mental Health dietetic colleagues working within forensic and other inpatient and outpatient services within SLaM, locally and nationally to ensure seamless and excellence in dietetic clinical care and service provision.
Raise awareness, understanding and effective implementation of the trust nutrition policy, supporting clinical governance and assurance of safe, timely, effective, evidence and value based nutritional care within the remit.
· To ensure that there is dietetic advice to support the development and monitoring of the Trust’s catering contracts and delivery of a positive patient experience at mealtimes.
· Provide information, education and training for all health professional colleagues as well as service users and carers on nutrition, hydration and dietary management of disease to support physical health and promote mental health recovery.
· Identify and lead on clinical research, audit, quality improvement innovations and data collection priorities for the service remit and dietetic department.
Personal Specification:
Qualifications (A)
Essential Requirements
§ HCPC Registered Dietitian
§ BSc Degree/ Postgraduate diploma / MSc in Nutrition and Dietetics
§ Training/experience in motivation /behaviour change/counselling skills
§ Strong evidence of continuing professional development
§ Membership of British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional indemnity insurance
Desirable Requirements
§ Clinical supervision training
§ Student Training course
§ Membership of relevant professional special interest groups i.e BDA Specialist Mental Health Group
Experience(A, I)
Essential Requirements
§ Significant clinical dietetic practice, minimum 3 years, including within forensic and mental health services.
§ Experience of working in the NHS
§ Clinical dietetic experience to include: nutrition support, and managing patients at risk of refeeding syndrome; oral nutritional supplements and enteral tube feeding
§ Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in disordered eating, weight management and metabolic syndrome
§ Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
§ Evidence of participation in audit / service evaluations/research/ Quality improvement projects/Patient and Public Involvement
§ Experience in the development of dietetic services
§ Dietetics experience related to food provision and catering
§ Experience in training and supervising students
§ Experience of working with challenging client groups, for example those ambivalent to treatment, or those with communication difficulties
§ Experience of/training in racial awareness/diversity
Desirable Requirements
Knowledge (A, I)
Essential Requirements
§ Excellent overall knowledge of clinical nutrition and dietetic care.
§ Knowledge of clinical dietetics in mental health, including side effects of psychiatric medication
§ Excellent knowledge of underweight, under-nutrition, re-feeding syndrome and it’s management
§ Excellent knowledge of overweight, obesity and metabolic syndrome and its management
§ Excellent knowledge of disordered eating, drivers, and dietetic assessment and support
§ Knowledge of the cultural diversity of the client population, in particular food choices, cooking and eating practices
§ Knowledge of both BDA, and HCPC codes and standards and their application in practice
§ Knowledge of safeguarding vulnerable adults
Desirable Requirements
§ Knowledge of the Mental Health Act
Skills / Abilities (A, I)
Essential Requirements
§ Excellent verbal and written communication skills and interpersonal skills
§ Excellent skills in counselling, motivation, behaviour change, negotiation and persuasion in working with clients, colleagues and commercial partners.
§ Excellent organisational, planning, problem solving and time management skills, including managing and prioritising a clinical caseload and meeting deadlines
§ Able to build rapport and effective working relationships with service users and carers, who may be distressed or challenging.
§ Able to facilitate therapeutic and educational group sessions for service users and staff
§ Ability to work effectively as an autonomous practitioner and as part of a team, with individuals and groups.
§ Able to use word processing and other IT applications
§ Ability to apply evidence-based practice and outcome measurement
§ Ability to solve complex clinical problems some of which will require immediate resolution
§ Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance as part of the supervision processandfacilitating it for other staff and students
§ Ability to be flexible, adapting approaches to suit different settings and service users
§ Enthusiastic and motivated to promote dietetic services
Desirable Requirements
§ Research Skills
*A = assessed on application, I = assessed upon interview, A/I = assessed on application as well as upon interview
This advert closes on Monday 17 Feb 2025