Job overview

The substantive 1.0 wte  Band 6 Rotational post forms a part of a 4 post rotation within the St. Georges dietetic team.

The current postholder provides dietary advice to patients on Gwynne Holford and the non stroke patients on Thomas Young. In addition  in the absence of the Principal Dietitian for Neurosciences, they  provide cover to all patients on Kent ward.

This post  requires strong nutrition support skills, especially in enteral feeding, in conjunction with a holistic approach to patient management.

The post holder also acts as a keyworker for patients undergoing neuro rehabilitation.

Main duties of the job

·       Practice autonomously, providing high quality clinical practice in the field of neurorehabilitation by  using enhanced clinical skills in assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

·       Be proactive in clinical decision making underpinned by an enhanced level of theoretical and practical knowledge.

·       Undertake specialist holistic nutritional assessments including the calculation of nutritional requirements on the interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometry, clinical condition and other physical parameters in those with complex needs.

·       To provide expert dietetic advice to the multidisciplinary team, through attendance and participation in multidisciplinary team meetings and ward rounds.

·       To be responsible for the performance management and/or clinical supervision of band 5 dietitians/ Dietetic assistants within specialist dietetic team, with support from band 7’s.

·       To ensure safe practice through development of a caseload management plan and to monitor workload of the band 5’s in the team, including waiting lists, referrals and discharges, contributing to activity reports as requested.

·       Regularly undertake audit and service evaluation to inform service improvement.

·       Disseminate evidence based practice and audit findings through local presentation to professional groups.

·       To actively participate in the departmental working groups to improve dietetic services as required.

Working for our organisation

·       Improve clinical outcomes based on monthly reports on patients admitted via the admissions ward.

·       Foster effective working relationships with MDT colleagues in the acute/ community.

·       Ensure effective collaboration with other MDT colleagues in the review of patients with high acuity.

·       Ensure patients are nutritionally optimised prior to discharge  in order to maximise rehab potential.

·       Reduce the cost of malnutrition/ length of stay with earlier identification of nutritional anomalies.