Senior Dietitian (Acute Paediatrics)

Job Description

Job Description 

PATIENTS FIRST – SERVICE STANDARDS

At West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust we promise to put Patients First.  Our commitment to every patient, every day, doing our best to ensure they feel safe, in a clean and comfortable environment with highly professional staff who work together to achieve this.

We want our patients to feel cared for, with a courteous and respectful attitude from kind and helpful staff who have the time to listen and keep them informed at every step.  We want them to feel confident that their treatment is provided by skilled and compassionate teams who will involve them in their care and who understand their time is valuable.

The Trust delivers services to patients seven days a week and aims to provide equality of treatment and outcome regardless of the day of the week.  To meet these aims and changing service requirements, the Trust may need you either to work temporarily outside of your core hours or to permanently change your core working days and hours.  The Trust will give you reasonable notice, where possible, of temporary changes to your days or hours of work and will consult with you and/or your staff representatives about substantial permanent changes, but ultimately, these are changes which may be required of you.

JOB PURPOSE:

As a qualified Dietitian, to effectively manage an autonomous clinical caseload, providing a high standard of nutrition and dietetic care and acting as a resource to other Dietitians and health care professionals with regards to paediatric patients.

• As a senior team member, to undertake non-clinical roles such as supervision and research/audit.
• To assist with the development of paediatric services.
• To take a lead under guidance from the Band 7 Dietitian on paediatric gastroenterology.
• To provide a service for paediatric in-patient wards – F1 and Neonatal unit.

KEY TASKS

1.    Communication and Team Working

• Use appropriate and advanced forms of verbal, written and other communication skills in adapting and communicating complex, sensitive information, advice, instruction and professional opinion to colleagues, clients, relatives and carers who may have complex emotional, physical and psychological problems.
• Communicate and contribute effectively to the multidisciplinary team, both internally and externally, to integrate the dietetic service and ensure a co-ordinated, collaborative and holistic approach to patient care.
• Maintain accurate, comprehensive and timely written records in accordance with professional guidelines and departmental standards.
• Liaise with General Practitioners to organise ACBS approved oral nutritional supplements/enteral feeds.
• Provide cover, as necessary, for colleagues during times of absence.
• Network to establish and maintain beneficial links to support the role e.g. professional forums, company representatives.

2. Planning and Organising
   • Employ good time management skills to manage an autonomous clinical caseload, responding to fluctuating workloads to maximise service provision, this includes delegating tasks and supervising this work, either directly or indirectly.
   • To be responsible, with the Band 7 Dietitian, for the planning and supervision of placements for dietetic students at West Suffolk Hospital, working with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure placement criteria are met with minimal disruption to staff.

3.    Managing – People and Resources

• With the Band 7 Dietitian, to support the Paediatric Dietetic Assistant with their day-to-day workload management and clinical queries. This will include emotional support e.g. in relation to patients who may be terminally ill.
• To help in prioritisation of work of non-registered Paediatric Dietetic staff and co-ordinate the Paediatric Dietetic Service during times of unexpected absence.
• If required; to carry out, with support of senior staff, annual appraisal of junior staff and to provide feedback to senior staff regarding junior staff to enable effective service management and resource allocation.
• Manage dietetic stock on wards to ensure adequate supplies and avoid wastage.
• Participate in the evaluation and review of current or development of new, departmental resources, such as diet sheets, in line with Trust guidelines and policies.

4.    Training and Teaching

• Be responsible for own continuing professional development (CPD), keep up to date with recent clinical trends and identify own development and training needs.
• Contribute to the maintenance of professional standards by keeping up to date with clinical knowledge and disseminating this to other members of staff.
• Attend mandatory training sessions such as, manual handling and fire training.

5.    Research and Development

• Participate in the development of a departmental audit plan, designing and conducting audits as specified therein.
• Undertake projects as determined by the Professional Lead Dietitian.

6.    Policy and Service Development

• Input into the development and maintenance of Dietetic standards and guidelines for paediatrics that are patient centred and in line with national and local policies to attain an efficient and effective service.
• Advise service manager on issues relating to paediatrics such as changes in demand, activity, capacity and new initiatives.
• Review and make recommendations to guidelines that involve own speciality both in the department and in the wider hospital environment or community.

7.    Administration

• Maintain records and statistics in line with Trust and Professional guidelines and policies.

8.    Clinical and Professional

• Apply specialist knowledge, comprehensive assessment skills and advanced clinical reasoning skills to investigate, analyse, assess, diagnose, treat and advise on a range of dietetic problems.
• Interpret and act on various biochemistry parameters, patient’s clinical condition, socio-economic status and diet history in order to develop treatment plans as well as prescribe ACBS products.
• Monitor and evaluate outcomes to ensure that nutritional goals and objectives are achieved in accordance with the patients’ changing needs.
• Appropriately integrate behavioural modification/motivational interviewing/counselling techniques into clinical practice, in order to influence life-style change for health benefit to clients who may be resistant to change.
• Ensure safe discharge planning and timely handover of dietetic care when appropriate.
• To be aware of and report any child protection issues to the appropriate agencies.
• Employ professional judgement to establish a level of consent, or to work within Trust policy to treat patients lacking the capacity to provide consent.
• Participate in regular appraisals and objective setting to ensure competency and professional development. To maintain own professional registration, meeting the standards required by the Health Professions Council and British Dietetic Association.
• Monitor and be accountable for own professional action, in order to achieve and maintain high standards of care, working within the scope of own knowledge and experience and recognising professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate.
• To have a detailed knowledge of national and local standards and the current evidence base for general dietetics, in particular to ensure evidenced based practice within paediatrics and gastroenterology for which the post holder will act as a point of contact for the department.
• Maintain a professional appearance including the wearing of uniform as per departmental policy.
• The post holder will be required to treat patients throughout the clinical specialities in inpatients and outpatients and take on any other duties as specified by the Lead Dietitian.

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive and will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that the arrangements meet the needs of the service.

Band 6 Acute Paediatric Job Description