Senior Dietitian

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Senior Dietitian

  • Post Date:28th September 2021
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Job Description

Senior Dietitian

Job Specification & Terms and Conditions

Job Title and Grade Senior Dietitan  – Temporary

(Grade Code: 3395)

Campaign Reference RHM113/20
Location of Post Regional Hospital Mullingar, Co Westmeath
Informal Enquiries Gráinne Flanagan, Dietitian Manager, Regional Hospital Mullingar

Tel: 044 9394285

E-mail: grainne.flanagan@hse.ie  

Details of Service

 

The Regional Hospital Mullingar is a Model 3 Statutory Hospital and is part of the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG). The Hospital provides a wide range of health services for people in Westmeath and Longford and specialised service for a broader Midlands population of 291,000 including Laois, Offaly, North Meath, Kildare and Roscommon.

The Hospital has 216 beds (184 inpatient, 16 day beds, 10 short term stay beds and a 6 bedded Medical Assessment Unit) and provides a range of services, on a 24-hour basis. The Hospital has a combined Critical Care Unit comprising of six beds (ICU/CCU).

The hospital provides the following acute services:

·         Accident & Emergency

·         General Medicine (Including Regional Stroke Thrombolysis/ Palliative care/ Dementia care)

·         General Surgery

·         Obstetrics and Gynaecology

·         Maternity

·         Paediatrics / Special Care Baby Unit

·         Critical Care/ coronary care

·         Isolation unit

·         Adult & paediatric Diabetes services

·         24 hour CT scanning service

·         Out-Patient Services incl. Ophthalmology

·         Age related Rehabilitation unit (10 beds)

The Dietitians provide a service to a wide range of areas including General Medicine, General Surgery, Gastroenterology, Intensive Care, regional adult Diabetes Unit

including DAFNE, paediatric diabetes unit, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Paediatrics, SCBU and older persons Rehab unit.

The Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics consists of a team of: 1 manager, 5 senior dietitians, 5 basic grade dietitians, full time admin support.

The department facilitates postgraduate dietetic placements for UCD MSc Students.

The senior dietitian will provide a nutrition and dietetic service to acute hospital patients in general medicine, surgery, critical care, age related rehabilitation unit and outpatient clinics.

Reporting Relationship The successful candidate will report to the Dietitian Manager.
Purpose of the Post

 

1.     To be an active member of the Nutrition & Dietetic dept and to  provide  a dietetic service principally to medical &peri-operative directorates: adult services: medical, surgical and critical care,isolation unit, ED, AMAU, age related rehabilitation unit  as agreed with the dietitian manager.

2.     Engage in Student training for 2 MSc students x 14 week placement annually.

3.     Cover for periods of absence/ leave in the dept.as required which may include: medical, surgical wards,Cardiac Rehab, gestational diabetes, adult diabetes – depending on candidates experience/ skills.

4.     Activley engage in development/ implementation & review of quality standards for the service area: Policies, Procedures, Protocols, Clinical Guidelines, Audits

5.     Participate in MDT’s/ Clinical Governance Committees/ Project groups/ Service Improvement activities/ Quality improvement initiatives as required.

6.     Participate in Nutrition Steering Comittee as required & agreed with the dietitian manager.

Additional duties may be assigned by the manager to include provision of service within the Medical Directorate.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

 

Professional/Clinical Practice

The Senior Dietitian will:

·          Progress  the dietetic role within the medical & peri-operatice directorates by:

a)    Consolidating structures of screening, referral & prioritisation to the dietetic service

b)    Attend MDT meetings, case conference meetings and Clinical Governance meetings

c)     Provide  education & training to healthcare & non-healthcare professionals at Grand Rounds, journal clubs etc

d)    Implement national/international policies, standards and guidelines and measure outcomes/ compliance via Clinical Audit.

·         Provide an evidence based dietetic service to: medical/ surgical/ICU/ CCU patients.

·         Manage clinical and non clinical caseloads appropriate to the post

·         Liaise with the MDT: Medical/ Nursing teams, Health & Social Care professionals, Catering & Support Services and other members of the healthcare teams in planning nutritional care for patients.

·         Actively participate in dept team meetings, multidisciplinary team meetings, journal clubs, case conferences, tutorials, multidisciplinary ward rounds/ Huddles and educational meetings as required

·         Liaise with multidisciplinary team members, staff colleagues and dietitians in other acute settings and in Primary, Community and Continuing Care (PCCC)/ CHO’s/ CHN’s as appropriate.

·         Recognise the need for effective self management of workload, time and resources.

·         Ability to work independently, respect professional boundaries and be guided by managers.

·         Know the limits of own practice and when to seek advice or refer to another healthcare professional.

·         Be flexible & accomadating in the event of needing to provide cover for colleagues during periods of absence/ staff shortage.

·         Carry out any other duties deemed appropriate and requested by the Dietitian Manager.

·         Maintain a high level of professional conduct, competence and standards and comply with CORU Statutory Regulations

·         Maintain a high standard of professional behaviour and be professionally accountable for actions/omissions. Take measures to develop and maintain the competencies required for professional practice.

·         Maintain professional standards with regard to patient and data confidentiality.

·         Work within own scope of professional competence in line with principles of best practice, professional conduct and clinical governance.

·         Promote a culture that values equality, diversity and respect in the work place.

·         Practice in accordance with relevant legislation and with regard to The Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for dietitians (CORU)

Education & Training

The Senior Dietitian will:

·         Attend mandatory training programmes as deemed necessary by the HSE/ dietitian manager.

·         Act as a professional resource in area of work and engage in the education of colleagues, student dietitians, service users/ patients, health care & non healthcare professionals as designated by the dietitian manager.

·         Participate in student dietitian Clinical Placement training with Dietetic colleagues and rotate the role of student coordinator within the dept

·         Provide clinical supervision to junior staff as agreed with the manager

·         Maintain professional knowledge on relevant research and practice development by complying with CORU CPD requirements..

·         Keep informed of relevant scientific research findings & current practices and identify and review relevant measures in response to these findings, as designated by Dietitian Manager.

·         Maintain standards of practice and levels of clinical knowledge by participating in continuous professional development initiatives and attendance at relevant courses as agreed with the dietitian manager.

·         Be a member of professional groups and participate in relevant forums pertaining to clinical nutrition and dietetics as agreed with the dietitian manager.

·         Engage in career and personal/ professional development planning in collaboration with the Dietitian Manager.

·         Engage in clinical reflection and be open to reflective practice.

·         Participate in the development and evaluation of nutrition education resource material for dietitians, catering and other members of the MDT as deemed appropriate.

·         Actively participate in induction, monthly review meetings, clinical supervision, mentoring &  appraisal with dietitian manager. 

Quality and Risk, Health & Safety Management

The Senior Dietitian, will:

·         Act as a leader within clinical area and assist manager in developing service plans

·         Be actively involved in continuously improving the quality of the service, use audit and quality improvement methods

·         Comply with PPPGs (policies, procedures and guidelines) , legislation, regulations and professional policies for the department of nutrition and dietetics, the regional hospital Mullingar and the HSE.

·         Contribute to the development & review of PPPGs and undertake audits as agreed with the dietitian manager.

·         Work in a safe manner with due care and attention to the safety of self and others. Be aware of personal responsibility for self & others whilst carrying out duties/ functions.

·         Be aware of the HSE Risk Management Framework, identify risks and take appropriate action. Report any adverse incidents or near misses

·         Be familiar with the HSE’s ‘Your Service Your Say’ programme & respond to any complaints/ comments acknowledging your role of responsibility as an employee of the HSE to act upon/ direct appropriately.

·         Adhere to HSE policies in relation to the procurement, care and safety of any equipment supplied for the fulfilment of duty

·         Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc and comply with associated HSE protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.

·         Support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service 

Administrative

The Senior Dietitian will:

·         Maintain appropriate patient record details and statistics in accordance with hospital and departmental policies and comply with the Freedom of Information Act.

·         Collect statistics for clinical & non clinical activity on a monthly basis & submit when requested by the dietitian manager

·         Closely work with the dept secretary in organising outpatient clinics

·         Maintain professional standards with regard to patient data confidentiality. Comply with GDPR standards.

·         Keep up to date with organisational developments within the Irish Health Service.

·         Comply with dept register arrangements for seeking/ recording study leave, mandatory training, training days, leave of absence etc as agreed with the dietitian manager.

·         Represent the department at meetings, committees and/or conferences as assigned by the dietitian manager.

·         Contribute to the preparation of work plans for the service to include specific objectives, strategies, activities, budget and relevant evaluation methods based on best practice as assigned by the dietitian manager.

·         Contribute to implementing and achieving KPIs as agreed by the manager. 

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING GENERAL CONDITIONS:

  • Mandatory training requirements must be adhered to and a dept. register maintained.
  • Employees must attend fire lectures annually and must observe fire orders.
  • All accidents/ incidents/ near misses within the Department must be reported immediately.
  • Infection Control Policies must be adhered to.
  • In line with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 all staff must comply with all safety regulations and audits.

·         In line with the Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Act 2004, smoking within the workplace is not permitted.

·         GDPR legislation must be complied with.

The above Job Specification is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Eligibility Criteria

 

Qualifications and/ or experience

 

Candidates must at the latest date of application:

1.     Statutory Registration, Professional Qualifications, Experience, etc

(a) Candidates for appointment must:
(i) Be registered, or be eligible for registration, as a Dietitian by the Dietitians Registration Board at CORU.
And
(ii) Have 3 years full time (or an aggregate of 3 years full time) post qualification dietetic experience.
And
(iii) Candidates must have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and professional ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.
And
(iv) Provide proof of Statutory Registration on the Dietitians Register maintained by the Dietitians Registration Board at CORU before a contract of employment can be issued.

2.     Annual Registration

(i) On appointment practitioners must maintain annual registration on the Dietitians Register maintained by the Dietitians Registration Board at CORU.
And
(ii) Practitioners confirm annual registration with CORU to the HSE by way of the annual Patient Safety Assurance Certificate (PSAC).

3.   Health

Candidates for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

4.   Character

Candidates for and any person holding the office must be of good character. 

Post Specific Requirements

 

Demonstrate depth and breadth of experience in the delivery of dietetic services as relevant to the role.
Other requirements specific to the post  
Skills, competencies and/or knowledge

 

 

 

Candidates must demonstrate the following:

Experience Relevant To The Role / Professional Knowledge:

·         Demonstrate dietetic knowledge and experience in critical care, coronary care, general surgery, gastroenterology, general medicine, nutrition support.

·         Demonstrate knowledge of national/ international standards in critical care, coronary care, general surgery, gastroenterology, general medicine, nutrition support.

·         Demonstrate  knowledge of the HSE and its structures.

·         Knowledge of clinical practice guidelines, national & international policies & standards of best practice in clinical dietetics as relevant to the role.

·         Dietetic experience in a clinical environment – acute hospital setting.

·         The ability to assess a clinical situation, determine the nature and severity of the problem and initiate a resolution within their professional and personal scope of practice whilst liaising with appropriate team members.

·         Evidence of delivering training and education programmes/ sessions to patients/ healthcare professionals/ groups

·         Evidence of ongoing CPD in the relevant areas: critical care nutrition, nutrition support, general medicine & surgery, diabetes, cardiology, age related medicine.

Planning, Managing Resources and Delivery of Results

·         Demonstrate the ability to assess a situation, determine the nature and severity of the problem and initiate a resolution within their professional and personal scope of practice.

·         Ability to prioritise workload, whilst acknowledging risks & commitments in a safe manner.

·         Evidence of effective organisational skills including effective time management, clinical prioritisation & awareness of appropriate resource management.

·         Ability to attain designated targets, manage deadlines and multiple tasks.

·         Ability to be self directed, work on own initiative and clarify with manager.

·         A willingness to be flexible in response to changing local/organisational requirements.

  • Flexibility and openness to change.

Commitment to Providing a Quality Service:

·         Evidence of on-going Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in the relevant clinical areas and motivation/ commitment to on-going professional development

·         Knowledge and experinece in developing and reviewing policies (PPPGs)

·         Evidence of conducting audit.

·         Knowledge of health care standards and regulations appropriate to the acute hospital

·         Be familiar with the HSE Risk Management Framework

·         Evidence of involvement with quality improvement programmes.

·         An understanding of the principles of clinical governance and risk management as they apply directly to the role and the wider health service

  • Professionalism through promotion of a high standard service

Building and Maintaining Relationships including Teamwork & Leadership Skills

  • An understanding of the importance of team work and the role of professional supervision within the department.
  • The ability to work with multidisciplinary team members.

·         Leadership, change management and team management skills including the ability to work with MDT colleagues.

·         Provide evidence of delivering training and education to patients/ healthcare professionals/ non-healthcare professionals

·         Leadership skills through support, mentoring and coaching of other nutrition and dietetic colleagues, student dietitians and MDT members.

·         High motivation with an innovative approach to developing and managing the clinical functions of the post

Communication Skills

·         Effective communication skills including the ability to present information in a clear and concise manner

·         Effective counselling and motivating skills and appropriate empathy to patient’s needs.

·         Awareness and an appreciation of patient centeredness.

·         Evidence of ability to empathise with and treat patients, relatives and colleagues with dignity and respect. 

Campaign Specific Selection Process

 

Ranking/Shortlisting / Interview

A ranking and or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form.  The criteria for ranking and or shortlisting are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification.  Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.

Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process. 

Those successful at the ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of the organisation.

Code of Practice The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, facilities for feedback to applicants on matters relating to their application when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice.  Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information for Candidates”.

Codes of practice are published by the CPSA and are available on www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information for Candidates” or on www.cpsa.ie.

The reform programme outlined for the Health Services may impact on this role and as structures change the job specification may be reviewed.

 

This job specification is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive and is subject to periodic review with the employee concerned.

 

Senior Dietitian – Terms and Conditions of Employment 

Tenure The current vacancy available is permanent and whole time.

The post is pensionable. A panel may be created from which permanent and specified purpose vacancies of full or part time duration may be filled. The tenure of these posts will be indicated at “expression of interest” stage.

Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is governed by the Health Act 2004 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 and Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Amendment Act 2013.

Remuneration The salary scale for the post (as as at 01/10/2020):  is:

€54,136 55,290 56,480 57,660 58,841 60,082 61,391 62,697 63,742

Working Week

 

The standard working week applying to the post is to be confirmed at job offer stage.
Annual Leave The annual leave associated with the post is to be confirmed at job offer stage.
Superannuation

 

 

This is a pensionable position with the HSE. The successful candidate will upon appointment become a member of the appropriate pension scheme.  Pension scheme membership will be notified within the contract of employment.  Members of pre-existing pension schemes who transferred to the HSE on the 01st January 2005 pursuant to Section 60 of the Health Act 2004 are entitled to superannuation benefit terms under the HSE Scheme which are no less favourable to those which they were entitled to at 31st December 2004
Probation Every appointment of a person who is not already a permanent officer of the Health Service Executive or of a Local Authority shall be subject to a probationary period of 12 months as stipulated in the Department of Health Circular No.10/71.
Protection of Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 As this post is one of those designated under the Protection of Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998, appointment to this post appoints one as a designated officer in accordance with Section 2 of the Act.  You will remain a designated officer for the duration of your appointment to your current post or for the duration of your appointment to such other post as is included in the categories specified in the Ministerial Direction. You will receive full information on your responsibilities under the Act on appointment.
Infection Control Have a working knowledge of Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc.
Health & Safety It is the responsibility of line managers to ensure that the management of safety, health and welfare is successfully integrated into all activities undertaken within their area of responsibility, so far as is reasonably practicable. Line managers are named and roles and responsibilities detailed in the relevant Site Specific Safety Statement (SSSS).

Key responsibilities include:

·         Developing a SSSS for the department/service[1], as applicable, based on the identification of hazards and the assessment of risks, and reviewing/updating same on a regular basis (at least annually) and in the event of any significant change in the work activity or place of work.

·         Ensuring that Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is integrated into day-to-day business, providing Systems Of Work (SOW) that are planned, organised, performed, maintained and revised as appropriate, and ensuring that all safety related records are maintained and available for inspection.

·         Consulting and communicating with staff and safety representatives on OSH matters.

·         Ensuring a training needs assessment (TNA) is undertaken for employees, facilitating their attendance at statutory OSH training, and ensuring records are maintained for each employee.

·         Ensuring that all incidents occurring within the relevant department/service are appropriately managed and investigated in accordance with HSE procedures[2].

·         Seeking advice from health and safety professionals through the National Health and Safety Function Helpdesk as appropriate.

·         Reviewing the health and safety performance of the ward/department/service and staff through, respectively, local audit and performance achievement meetings for example.

Note: Detailed roles and responsibilities of Line Managers are outlined in local SSSS.

Ethics in Public Office 1995 and 2001

 

 

Positions remunerated at or above the minimum point of the Grade VIII salary scale (€ 64,812 as at 01.01.10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positions remunerated at or above the minimum point of the Grade VIII salary scale (€ 64,812 as at 01.01.2010) are designated positions under Section 18 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.  Any person appointed to a designated position must comply with the requirements of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 as outlined below;

A) In accordance with Section 18 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, a person holding such a post is required to prepare and furnish an annual statement of any interests which could materially influence the performance of the official functions of the post.  This annual statement of interest should be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer not later than 31st January in the following year.

B) In addition to the annual statement, a person holding such a post is required, whenever they are performing a function as an employee of the HSE and have actual knowledge, or a connected person, has a material interest in a matter to which the function relates, provide at the time a statement of the facts of that interest.  A person holding such a post should provide such statement to the Chief Executive Officer.  The function in question cannot be performed unless there are compelling reasons to do so and, if this is the case, those compelling reasons must be stated in writing and must be provided to the Chief Executive Officer.

C) A person holding such a post is required under the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 to act in accordance with any guidelines or advice published or given by the Standards in Public Office Commission. Guidelines for public servants on compliance with the provisions of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 are available on the Standards Commission’s website http://www.sipo.gov.ie/

[1] A template SSSS and guidelines are available on the National Health and Safety Function/H&S web-pages

[2] A template SSSS and guidelines are available on the National Health and Safety Function/H&S web-pages

[2] See link on health and safety web-pages to latest Incident Management Policy