Job Description
Job Title: Dietitian (Band 6)
Reports to (job title): Band 7 Dietitian
Line Manager to: Band 5 / Dietetic assistant
Job purpose
To provide dietetic assessment and support to adults and their carers in the community setting.
The caseload is varied including conditions Home enteral feeding, neurological conditions,
gastroenterology, and general nutritional support patients. The service works in a variety of
settings appropriate to their needs i.e. care homes, own home, virtual, telephone and outpatient
clinics across the West Lancashire area.
Base
Bickerstaffe House, Ormskirk. Although the post is a community position requiring travel within the
West Lancashire region. Some working from home carrying out virtual and telephone
appointments may also be required.
Job Introduction
Join us as a Band 6 Dietitian and receive a £1000 welcome bonus! We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic and self-motivated to join our small, friendly and busy community dietetics team based at Bickerstaffe House, Ormskirk covering the West Lancashire area.
The successful candidate will, manage a caseload of home enterally fed, gastroenterology, neurology and nutritional support patients. Work will take place in a variety of settings, including face to face clinics, telephone/virtual clinics, home visits and in care/nursing homes.
This is a permanent position with full or part time hours available.
Key responsibilities
Duties and Responsibilities
- To undertake nutritional assessment, dietary analysis and calculate nutritional requirements
of referred patients, taking into account medical, social and cultural factors. - To provide nutrition and dietary advice suitable for the patients’ medical, social and cultural
factors, which is evidence based. - To negotiate change with patients to enable them to achieve set dietary targets.
- To manage own time and clinical case load effectively and efficiently.
- To monitor and review nutritional care plans against outcome measures and adjust care plan
to facilitate achievement of goals. - To assist in developing a range of educational resources which have a clear evidence-base
and which are acceptable to users of the service and their carers. - To undertake operational responsibilities on behalf of the team when required.
Planning and Organisational Duties
- To be responsible for designated area of work & prioritise workload in line with Dietetic
standards - To accurately record all assessments and interventions in clinical notes.
- To contribute to and comment on the department policies, resources and matters relating to
nutrition and dietetics. - To promote safe standards of care and service.
- To communicate and liaise with other agencies appropriately, e.g. members of the MDT,
GP’s acute dietitians.
Communications and Key Working Relationships
- To communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise rehabilitation potential and
to ensure understanding of condition. Use communication skills such as persuasion,
motivation explanation to encourage patients to undertake their management programme. - To use communication tools (verbal and non-verbal) to gain informed consent with patients
where there will often be barriers to effective communication e.g. loss of hearing, altered
perception, expressive and receptive dysphasia, pain, fear etc. - To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal
framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment. - To communicate complex patient-related information (as well as non-patient information)
effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues to ensure
the delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service. - To attend and contribute to Nutrition and Dietetic Service meetings as required.
- To participate in clinical supervision when appropriate.
Responsibility for Health & Safety
- To be aware of Health and Safety aspects of your work and implement any policies, which
may be required to improve the safety of your work area, including your prompt recording
and reporting of accidents to senior staff, and ensuring that equipment use if safe.
Responsibility for Teaching
- To educate patients, relatives and carers in conditions and their effects in order to adapt to
an appropriate lifestyle, including in group based education settings or virtually. - To receive, plan and deliver in-service training for own profession and others.
- To participate in the planning, evaluation and audit of practices, clinical pathways and
protocols within your clinical area. - To participate with other team members in measurement of and evaluation of work and
current practice through use of outcome measures and audit.
Proposed job plan
The role is 37.5 hours per week. Part time and job share applicants will also be considered. We
can offer some flexibility regarding working days / times depending on the needs of the service.
Our values
Our values are our moral compass and core to our DNA. They underpin the way we deliver our
services and treat those who use our services.
To many organisations values are just words which don’t translate into reality of the day to day but
our values flow through everything that we do, they define who we are, what we stand for and set
the expectations of our colleagues, communities, customers and partners. They have been
defined by our colleagues and have been integral to our journey so far and will be integral to our
future as well.
We have three values which help us stand out from the crowd, not just because there’s only three,
but because they are unique to who we are. We care, we think, and we do.
Care Think Do
- Inspire
- Understand
- Communicate
- Challenge
- Improve
- Learn
- Accountability
- Involve
- Resilience
Confidentiality and Information Security
As our employee you will be required to uphold the confidentiality of all records held by the
company, whether patients/service records or corporate information. This duty lasts indefinitely
and will continue after you leave the company’s employment.
All information which identifies living individuals in whatever form (paper/pictures, electronic
data/images or voice) is covered by the 2018 Data Protection Act and should be managed in
accordance with this legislation. This and all other information must be held in line with NHS
national standards including the Records Management: NHS Code of Practice , NHS Constitution
and HSCIC Code of Practice on Confidential Information and should only be accessed or
disclosed lawfully. Monitoring of compliance will be undertaken by the Company. Failure to adhere
to Information Governance policies and procedures may result in disciplinary action and, where
applicable, criminal prosecution.
Information governance responsibilities
You are responsible for the following key aspects of Information Governance (not an exhaustive
list):
- Completion of annual information governance training
- Reading applicable policies and procedures
- Understanding key responsibilities outlined in the Information Governance acceptable usage
policies and procedures including NHS mandated encryption requirements - Ensuring the security and confidentiality of all records and personal information assets
- Maintaining timely and accurate record keeping and where appropriate, in accordance with
professional guidelines - Only using email accounts authorised by us. These should be used in accordance with the
Sending and Transferring Information Securely Procedures and Acceptable Use Policies. - Reporting information governance incidents and near misses on CIRIS or to the appropriate
person e.g. line manager, Head of Information Governance, Information Security Lead - Adherence to the clear desk/screen policy
- Only using approved equipment for conducting business
Governance
Clinical governance is a framework through which organisations delivering health and care
services are accountable to continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding
high standards of care by creating an environment in which clinical and other forms of care
flourishes. Employees must be aware that clinical governance places a duty on all staff to ensure
that the level of care services they deliver to patients is safe and high quality, and that they
follow/comply with our policies and procedures.
Registered Health Professional
All staff who are a member of a professional body must comply with standards of professional
practice/conduct. It is the post holder’s responsibility to ensure they are both familiar with and
adhere to these requirements.
Risk Management/Health & Safety
The post holder has a responsibility to themselves and others in relation to managing risk, health
and safety and will be required to work within the policies and procedures laid down by the
company. Staff are required to observe the Hygiene Code and demonstrate good infection control
and hand hygiene.
Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them by the Health & Safety at Work
Act (1974) to ensure that the agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe
environment for other employees, patients and visitors. It is essential to observe strict fire and
security precautions at all times.
All staff must report accidents, incidents and near misses so that the company can learn from
them and improve safety.
Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Responsibility
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk of harm
and expects all employees to share this commitment.
Medicines Management Responsibility
Nursing or registered healthcare professionals
Undertake all aspects of medicines management related activities in accordance within the
company’s medicines policies to ensure the safe, legal and appropriate use of medicines.
Skilled non-registered staff
Undertake all aspects of medicines management related activities in accordance with the
company’s medicines policy where appropriate training has been given and competencies have
been achieved.
Policies and Procedures
All colleagues must comply with the Company Policies and Procedures which can be found on the
company intranet.
General
We are committed to serving our community. We aim to make our services exemplary in both
clinical and operational aspects. We will show leadership in identifying healthcare needs to which
we can respond and in determining the most cost-effective way of doing so.
We recruit competent staff that we support in maintaining and extending their skills in accordance
with the needs of the people we serve. We will recognise the commitment from our staff to
meeting the needs of our patients.
The company recognises a “non-smoking” policy. Employees are not able to smoke anywhere
within the premises or when outside on official business.
Equal Opportunities
It is the company’s intention to be an employer of choice and ensure that no job applicants or
employees are unfairly disadvantaged on the grounds of gender, disability, race, ethnic origin,
colour, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, trade union membership or any other factors that
are not relevant to their capability or potential. To this end, the company has an Equality and
Diversity policy and it is the responsibility of each employee to contribute to its success.
Flexibility Statement
This job description is not exhaustive and may change as the post develops or changes to align
with service needs. Any such changes will be discussed directly between the post holder and their
line manager.
Personal Specification
Essential
- Diploma/Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics
- HCPC registered
- A variety of clinical experience at band 5 or 6 level
- Experience of managing patients requiring Home Enteral Feeding
- Gastroenterology / Neurology/ Nutritional support experience
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Self- directed learning
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team (with dietitians / dietetic assistant / Multi-
Disciplinary Team) - Ability to pass on skills/knowledge to others within both formal and informal environments
- Organisational skills
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Clinical appraisal skills
- Ability to work in a variety of settings including face to face clinic, care homes, patient’s
homes, remotely / home working, telephone - Excellent time management skills
- IT Skills
- Awareness of relevant national / local guidelines and policies
- Committed to personal and team development
- Able to pass on skills and knowledge
- Able to maintain judgement under pressure
- Hold a valid driving licence
- Have access to a car (business insurance will be required)
Desirable
- Relevant clinical courses
- Experience of delivering group education sessions
- Knowledge of audit
- Member of the BDA
- Member of relevant specialist interest group(s)