Specialist Dietitian NHS AfC: Band 6

Job overview

£32,306 - £39,027, pro rata per annum.

Full time (Part time to be considered)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, hardworking, motivated Dietitian, ideally with experience in ICU and Stroke, to join our friendly and welcoming team of Dietitians and Dietetic Assistants. The successful applicant will be working autonomously in ICU and on the Stroke unit with access to experienced Band 7 Dietitian for clinical support and supervision. You will provide a high quality service to our in-patients, setting goals and monitoring progress and ensuring appropriate follow-up on discharge is arranged. You will be working closely with the multi-disciplinary teams within the hospital as well as having Dietetic Assistant and Admin support.

The successful applicant will be a good team player but be able to work individually as well, being flexible, reliable, and conscientious, self-motivated and forward thinking as well as having excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Comprehensive clinical dietetic knowledge and recent clinical experience particularly in complex enteral feeding and use of modified diets and fluids are essential. Teaching skills, experience of multi-disciplinary team working and experience in and enthusiasm for service improvement and clinical audit are important. There are protected audit sessions within the Trust and staff are encouraged to make use of this.

Interviews for this position will be held on 7th January 2022.

Main duties of the job

We have an excellent staff supervision and appraisal system which supports the development of individuals and their services. We take Student Dietitians on P1, P2 and P3 placements and you will have an active role in their training.

A flexible approach to day to day tasks is required, in order to meet the demands of the service. Our philosophy is to keep the patient at the heart of everything we do. We look for people who are willing to go the extra mile, not because they are asked to, but because they are committed to being part of a healthcare team that delivers an excellent caring service to our patients.

The successful candidate will:

• Deliver a high standard of evidence based care
• Be confident in their assessment and decision making
• Participate in the discharge planning process
• Supervise Dietetic Assistants, Band 5 Dietitians and students on clinical placement
• Have significant postgraduate experience as a band 5 Dietitian
• Have the ability to work flexibly and adaptably to changing working patterns
• Have a working knowledge of a broad range of conditions with proven clinical skills or a keen interest in training in this specialist area
  

PLEASE NOTE – we provide a seven day service, days of work will be Sunday to Saturday. You may be asked to provide occasional cover on a Bank Holiday.

An Enhanced DBS Certificate, with the checking of the Adults’ Barred Lists is required for this post.

Working for our organisation

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in the entire country, to achieve the title of OUTSTANDING, rated by the Care Quality Commission.

We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of circa 360,000 and provide tertiary services across a much wider area in the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit.

Our ’5 Star Patient Care’ strategy is at the heart of all that we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time.

Our latest achievements include:

• Acute Trust of the Year – HSJ Awards November 2019
• Trust rates Outstanding by the CQC – Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers and Health Service Journal)
• Best acute Trust in England for quality of care for the 3rd year running (NHS Staff Survey)

In the NHS Staff Survey 2020 the Trust scored the highest marks in the following areas;

• Quality of care
• Staff engagement
• Support from managers

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

• To be professional and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients/clients in your care.
• To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the patients/clients under your care, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
• To undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients/clients including those with diverse or complex presentations/multi pathologies; use specialist clinical reasoning skills and appropriate assessment techniques to provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition
• Formulate and deliver an individual treatment programme using assessment, reasoning skills and treatment skills based on a sound knowledge of evidence based practice and treatment options. Formulate an initial diagnosis and prognoses in order to recommend best course of intervention and develop comprehensive discharge plans
• To take delegated responsibility from the Band 7 clinician for managing patients/clients with particular conditions and be responsible for providing specialist assessment and treatment plans for patients with these conditions.
• Evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment programmes as required
• To have the ability to undertake self-directed/lone working in a variety of locations

CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• To maintain Professional Registration
• To work within Trust clinical guidelines, HPC and Registrant Body guidelines and to have a working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor own and others quality of practise against these
• To be responsible for a designated area of work, as delegated by a senior clinician. Plan and organise efficiently and effectively patient/client caseload, and use of time for self and more junior staff
• To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out clinical duties, and to adhere to policy, including competence to use equipment and to ensure the safe use of equipment by others through teaching, training and supervision of practice
• To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals to promote understanding of the aims of treatment and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care
• To provide specialist clinical advice to colleagues working within other clinical areas
• To provide specialist clinical advice, teaching and training to other members of the MDT regarding the management of patients
• To train, supervise and performance manages more junior staff and students. This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation
• To communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise potential and to ensure understanding of their condition
• To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients/clients who lack capacity to consent to treatment
• To communicate highly sensitive information effectively with all patient groups/clients/carers where there may be difficulties in accepting or understanding information
• To maintain tact and diplomacy and use highly developed communication skills when working in situations which may become hostile/antagonistic including potential complaints as per Trust Policy

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

• To maintain accurate, comprehensive and up to date documentation, in line with legal and local requirements, and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters
• To undertake as directed the collection of appropriate data and statistics for the use of the department
• To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service. This will include participating in a variety of MDT, internal and external agency meetings and forums plus other forms of verbal/written communication as necessary including report writing and referrals to other agencies

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSBILITIES

• To maintain own clinical professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments, and incorporate them as appropriate into your work. To support junior staff to do likewise
• To be an active member of relevant training programmes attending and delivering presentations and training sessions at staff meetings, tutorials,and by attending external courses and being a reflective practitioner
• To participate in the supervision scheme as supervisor and supervisee

LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• To demonstrate leadership by means of:
  • Delivering change within sphere of practice, when and where indicated, to improve service delivery.
  • Influencing, motivating, supporting and enabling others to contribute towards the effectiveness and success of the Therapy Team
• To provide specialist advice and guidance in working with colleagues locally to ensure best practice across all disciplines in the assessment, treatment and long term management of patients/ clients within sphere of practice.
• To deputise for the band 7 in terms of operational issues
• To take responsibility for their own specialist and complex decision making and the decisions of their team which effect service delivery
• To undertake any other duties that might be considered appropriate by senior staff
• To participate in working parties developing policy changes within speciality which will impact on all service users

CLINICAL GOVERNANCE, RESEARCH & AUDIT

• To adhere to the appropriate Registrant Body code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and facilitate compliance of staff with local and national standards of practice
• Implement policy and service development changes as directed
• To demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply to work situation
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence based practice projects, audit and outcome measures under the guidance of senior staff. Make recommendations for change and to implement change
• To comply with the organisational and departmental policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing and updating as appropriate
• To support research activity within the Service
• To engage actively in practice development, evaluation, audit and research activities relevant to service to promote evidence based practice