Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Are you interested in nutrition and health and are someone who would like to make a difference to the nutritional care and management of patients in hospital? We are looking for a motivated, friendly team-player to join the dietetic team based at Broomfield hospital as a dietetic assistant for 32.5 hours/week. This may be able to increase to full time later in the year.
This role will enable you to work closely with the Dietitians and ward staff to deliver a high standard of nutritional care. You will be involved in the collection of clinical information to assist dietetic assessment and practical aspects of implementing/monitoring the nutritional recommendations made by the Dietitian. A key aspect of this role involves training members of the healthcare team and promoting first-line nutrition support strategies on the wards.
This is an exciting opportunity working with a friendly and supportive team.
Main duties of the job
* To collect relevant information for patients referred to the dietetic department to assist in the prioritisation of workload.
* To provide assistance to the dietitians in implementing dietetic care plans for inpatients and outpatients.
* To liaise with catering staff regarding the provision of special diets and nutritional supplements, in conjunction with the dietitians.
* To liaise with pharmacy and pharmaceutical companies regarding nutritional feeds and supplements, in conjunction with the dietitians.
* With support from the dietitians, to undertake teaching and education of nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team in nutrition screening and basic nutrition support.
* To update dietetic resources as required by the dietitians.
Job responsibilities
For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description, but some of the responsibilities include:
* The post-holder will communicate with patients, carers, and health professionals, e.g. Nutrition Nurse, Speech Therapist, Nursing Staff, and Doctors on the telephone or in person.
* The post-holder will talk to ward staff regarding patients' nutrition.
* The post-holder will talk about healthy eating to the general public.
* The post-holder will attend and contribute to staff meetings.
* The post-holder will assist with the running of the office as required, e.g. filing, photocopying, answering the phone.
* The post-holder will photocopy diet sheets and other resources.
* The post-holder will record clinical findings in patients' records.
* The post-holder will complete the reporting of patient contacts in line with department guidelines.
* The post-holder will organise and prioritise clinical workload.
* The post-holder will encourage and assist patients to take prescribed snacks, nourishing drinks, and supplements.
* The post-holder will assist patients requiring special diets to choose from the hospital menu.
* The post-holder will ensure the completion of food record charts and collect information from food record charts as requested by the Dietitian.
* The post-holder will monitor the use of nutrition screening on the wards and inform the Dietitian of patients at high risk.
* The post-holder will help to train nursing staff on the use of the nutrition screening tool.
* The post-holder will collect preliminary information on patients referred to the dietetic service from a variety of sources, including the taking of diet histories.
* The post-holder will monitor patients' weight changes and do simple calculations and conversions for weight, height, and body mass index.
* The post-holder will undertake review of patients as requested by the dietitian.
* The post-holder will liaise and report to the Dietitian on patients' progress and any changes that may have occurred.
* The post-holder will liaise with the Dietitian regarding follow-up arrangements required after the discharge of an inpatient.
* The post-holder will follow up discharged patients by telephone when requested by the dietitian.
* The post-holder will act as a link to other agencies and services by appropriate networking.
* The post-holder will contribute to any health promotion sessions that are being attended by the dietetic service.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* NVQ 3 level or equivalent experience.
* GCSE qualification or equivalent in maths, English, and basic sciences.
* Qualification in Nutrition.
Knowledge and Experience
* Experience of working with the public.
* Good interpersonal skills.
* Able to work with confidential information.
* Experience of working within the NHS setting.
* Experience of working with unwell people.
Personal skills
* Good written and verbal communication skills.
* Interest in nutrition.
* Evidence of teamwork.
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.
Salary: £24,071 a year (Pro Rata for Part Time)
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