South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to providing high quality and specialist care to our service users and are recognised for the care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission rates our services as 'good'.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone's potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I'm going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you'll be part of something special.
As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job Overview
We are seeking a HCPC registered Dietitian, with NHS experience, who has gained significant dietetic knowledge and expertise working within mental health and eating disorder services in nutrition support.
You will have expert knowledge identifying nutritional risk, including refeeding syndrome and managing this risk together with the MDT to promote physical and mental wellbeing and recovery.
The role will focus on a food first approach with careful use of oral nutritional supplements and enteral tube feeding, being mindful of least restrictive practice. Dietetic care is patient-centred and trauma-informed, managing immediate risk whilst developing long-term sustainable solutions to undernutrition and/or underweight. This is with the view to empowering service users to develop self-efficacy and resilience with regards to nutrition and hydration during their recovery journey and beyond.
The post holder will lead and take responsibility for the strategic planning, development and operational oversight of the inpatient nutrition support dietetic pathway and integrate this within MDT pathways. They will be responsible for ensuring quality assurance of the pathway within the trust Nutrition Steering Group Committee.
We are particularly interested in hearing from applicants who are committed to lifelong learning and contributing to the research evidence base.
Main Duties of the Job
Working trust-wide, across the age range, the post holder is the clinical dietetic lead for nutrition support in inpatient services, facilitating transfer of patients between acute and MH inpatient services/wards pre, post and during admission, and discharging back into the community where nutrition support is needed including oral nutritional supplements and enteral tube feeding.
The role includes future transformation work, which will include the setting up, oversight, and supporting the dietetic team taking over the procurement, storage and distribution of oral nutritional supplements, enteral feeds and ancillaries within the trust currently managed by pharmacy colleagues.
To hold a specialist clinical dietetic remit and supervise dietetic colleagues working with the post holder's specialism.
1. To be the dietetic clinical lead with regards enteral tube feeding across inpatient services, supporting dietitians, and nursing and MDTs where required, especially where cases are complex and involve consideration of least restrictive practice, tube feeding under restraint and trauma-informed decision making and care.
2. To ensure sustainability practices within the trust with regards oral nutritional supplements and enteral feeds and ancillaries and to join the trust Clinical Sustainability Group in their work and drive to ensure the trust meets its green targets.
3. To deputise for the Head of Service.
Working for Our Organisation
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 Friday in the time frames from 7am 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 forefront of mental health dietetics and to provide excellence in dietetic care. Our dietetic offices are located at the Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospitals.
Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities
Overall Job Purpose and Responsibilities Include:
1. To use expert knowledge and extensive clinical experience to lead, and take responsibility for the strategic planning, development and operational oversight of the implementation of the inpatient dietetic care pathway for nutrition support across the trust, including transfers of patients requiring nutrition support between the trust, acute services and community/primary care services, utilising the principles of clinical governance, sustainability and values-based care.
2. To work together with all stakeholders to integrate and embed nutrition support within MDT care pathways, including nutrition risk screening, identifying, intervening and managing risk via care planning and appropriate referral onward for specialist dietetic and allied health professional clinical care.
3. To be the dietetic lead for the trust Nasogastric Tube Placement, Enteral Feeding & Medicines Administration Policy (For Adult and CAMHS inpatient services).
4. To represent the trust and Nutrition and Dietetic Services within the KHP SEL Consortia, to monitor and review the SEL Enteral feeds and Services Contract.
5. Identify and facilitate audit, service evaluation, quality improvement and research priorities to drive clinical development strategy and contribute to the evidence base within this area.
6. To be responsible for planning and delivering nutritional support training within inpatient services, including managing refeeding syndrome, food first approaches, oral nutritional supplementation and enteral tube feeding, to support meeting nutrition and hydration needs, nutritional recovery and weight restoration where appropriate, within specialist eating disorders and mental health services for dietetic colleagues, medical staff, nurses, AHPs and students within the trust as well as locally and nationally.
7. To provide a clinical dietetic service including assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes within agreed specialist area(s), maintaining a caseload of highly complex patients as an autonomous practitioner.
8. To provide clinical, management and professional supervision to more junior colleagues.
9. To deputise for the Head of Nutrition and Dietetic Services when required.
Personal Specification:
Qualifications (A)
Essential Requirements
* Dietetic qualification resulting in registration with the HCPC as a Dietitian
* Masters Level qualification or post graduate qualification in relevant topic or equivalent experience
* Strong evidence of continuing professional development
* Membership of British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional indemnity insurance
Desirable Requirements
* Clinical supervision training
* Membership of relevant professional special interest groups i.e. BDA Specialist Mental Health Group, Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Group, BAPEN, including Specialist Interest Groups (Nasogastric)
Experience (A, I)
Essential Requirements
* Significant post graduate experience working in clinical dietetic practice in a variety of areas, including at highly specialist level / band 7, including demonstrating clinical leadership
* Experience of working in the NHS
* Experience of working with service users within specialist mental health diagnoses
* Experience of working with service users with eating disorders
* Experience assessing and managing underweight, under-nutrition, re-feeding syndrome and meeting nutrition and hydration needs via flexible collaborative multidisciplinary team patient-centred trauma informed care
* Current experience of appropriate and sustainable use of oral nutritional supplements
* Experience weighing up indications for enteral tube feeding, including under restraint.
* Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
* Experience in the development of dietetic services
* Contributing to development of local clinical guidelines/trust policies.
* Involvement in planning local service delivery.
* Evidence of participation in audit/service evaluations/research/Quality improvement projects/Patient and Public Involvement
* Dietetics experience related to food provision and catering, including special diets linked to medical, psychological, cultural, religious and personal preferences
* Experience in training and supervising students/dietetic assistants
Desirable Requirements
* Lived experience of mental health problems
* Experience of setting up and managing a service area, service delivery and programme management
* Experience of research methodology, involvement and publication.
* Understanding and experience of developing and implementing health policy at local level
Knowledge / Skills (A, I)
Essential Requirements
* Knowledge of serious and enduring mental health conditions and treatments
* Knowledge of safeguarding vulnerable young people and adults
* 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.
* Able to build rapport and effective working relationships with service users and carers, who may be distressed or challenging.
* 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 use electronic systems for recording clinical information
* Ability to apply evidence-based practice and outcome measurement
* Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance as part of the supervision process and facilitating it for other staff and students
* Knowledge of both BDA, and HCPC codes and standards and their application in practice and familiar with the principles of clinical governance
Desirable Requirements
* Knowledge of the Mental Health Act
* People management skills
The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, welcoming applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:
* Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
* Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
* Believing that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity
Please Note:
* All applications for this post will need to be made online
* Read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
* The closing date listed is a guide only and the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
* Once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
* Should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful
* Priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
* Should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
* We are a smoke-free Trust
SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe.
Employer Certification / Accreditation Badges
Applicant Requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to Download
* Clinical Lead Dietitian Nutrition Support (PDF, 488.3KB)
* SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
* Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)
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