Download UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON HOSPITALS NHS TRUST

JOB DESCRIPTION
Title:
Specialist Dietitian
Directorate:
Clinical Support Services*
Board/corporate function:
Medicine Board*
Band:
Band 6
Responsible to:
Clinical Dietetic Services Manager*
Accountable to:
Head of Nutrition and Dietetics*
Hours:
37.5
Location:
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
(UCLH)
UNVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), situated in the West End
of London, is one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom and provides first class
acute and specialist services both locally and to patients from throughout the UK and abroad.
The new state-of-the-art University College Hospital which opened in 2005, is the focal point
of the Trust alongside six cutting-edge specialist hospitals. UCLH was one of the first trusts to
gain foundation status.
The Trust has an international reputation and a tradition of innovation. Our excellence in
research and development was recognised in December 2006 when it was announced that, in
partnership with University College London (UCL), we would be one of the country’s five
comprehensive biomedical research centres.
Alongside our relationship with the world leading UCL and Royal Free medical school, we
enjoy close links with London South Bank and City universities offering the very best in
training and education.
CLINICAL BOARD
The Medicine Board incorporates the specialties of Critical Care, Medical Specialties,
Infection, Pathology, Emergency Services, Clinical Support Divisions lead by the Medical
Director.
DEPARTMENT
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
1
The Nutrition and Dietetic Service at UCLH is a Trust-wide service providing an in and
outpatient service from five sites; University College Hospital (UCH), the National Hospital for
Neurology & Neurosurgery (NHNN), Elizabeth Garrett Anderson & Obstetric Hospital (EGA),
The Heart Hospital (HH) and the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital (RLHH). Our team
consists of 33 Dietitians and 2 assistant practitioners and 2 clinical dietetic support workers.
We are a forward thinking department, committed to providing an efficient, clinically effective
evidence based nutrition and dietetic service to our patients.
The main department at UCH is based on the 3rd Floor East Wing in 250 Euston Road which
is opposite the main hospital building. The Head and Neck Cancer Dietitians are based on
the 1st Floor East Wing, 250 Euston Road. The wards are situated in the main hospital tower,
across the road at UCH. Outpatients may be seen in the main UCH hospital podium, EGA or
the Rosenheim Building.
The department at NHNN is based on the 2nd floor of Albany Wing. Wards are situated in the
Queen Mary Wing and the Chandler Wing. Outpatients may be seen in the NHNN. There are
also offices at RLHH and HH from which sole practitioners provide an in and out patient
service.
JOB PURPOSE
To provide assessment, management and education for patients requiring specialist dietetic
and nutrition intervention by using evidence based practice and conforming to best practice
guidelines
To assist in the development of the specialist dietetic service and produce evidence based
resources, policies and guidelines
To assist in providing education and training to dietitians, dietetic assistants, student dietitians
and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) in nutrition and dietetic specialities to facilitate
continuous learning and development
DIMENSIONS
Responsible for the dietetic and nutritional management of patients under the care of the
Multidisciplinary team.
This service covers both specialist inpatients and outpatients, as required, at the designated
site.
Actions are in accordance with the service clinical guidelines, integrated care pathways and
policies set out by the Trust.
KEY RESULT AREAS
Clinical
To provide highly specialist nutrition advice to patients, their carers and HCPs through
formulation of treatment and education plans and prescription of dietary intervention. This
involves the collection and interpretation of anthropometry, requesting and interpretation of
biochemistry, consideration of the financial implications and distress to the patient, their
clinical profile and individual dietary information.
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
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To interpret this information and apply clinical judgement and reasoning to assess, evaluate
and monitor nutritional status and implement appropriate evidence based changes to dietary
interventions if indicated.
To make recommendations to the medical staff regarding changes to medications for the
nutritional management of patients based on interpretation of biochemical, physiological and
dietary parameters.
To use Trust policies, national guidelines, available research and the individual patient
information in clinical decision making and reasoning with little supervision.
To provide the catering department with expert advice on special diets and arrange the
provision of specific dietary items or modifications to ensure patients nutritional needs are
met.
To practice within the Health Professions Council’s ‘Standards of conduct, performance and
ethics’ and ‘Standards of proficiency for dietitians’, and the British Dietetic Association’s ‘
Professional Standards for dietitians’ and 'Code of Professional Conduct' and therefore have
a clear understanding of issues such as consent, confidentiality and equal opportunities.
To have responsibility for the planning and prioritisation of clinical caseload and non-clinical
workload including provision of dietetic cover to other specialist areas in the events of planned
and unplanned leave of designated cover partner.
To establish safe practice through development of caseload management plans taking into
account risk management and documentation, and reporting of critical incidents as outlined in
Trust policy.
To represent the dietetic service and/or individual patients at the multi-disciplinary team
meetings, to ensure the delivery of a co-ordinated multi-disciplinary service, and integrate
dietetic treatment into the treatment programme. This will include discussion of patient care,
patient progress and involvement in discharge planning.
To work as an autonomous practitioner working within clearly defined
procedures/policies/protocols/guidelines, guided by precedent and advice from senior
colleagues.
To interpret, extract and analyse available patient information from a variety of sources e.g.
medical notes, nurses record charts, communication with MDT members, patients and their
carers and document information relevant to dietetic management in the medical notes and
dietetic record cards within a reasonable timeframe.
To initiate correspondence with general practitioners, consultants, community teams and feed
companies by producing letters outlining dietetic management and dietary prescription
requirements within reasonable timeframes.
Education and Training
To provide quality evidence based and appropriate nutrition and dietetics support and
education to nursing, medical, catering staff and other health professionals as directed.
To deliver patient education sessions
To contribute to the training of pre-registration student dietitians, including contribution to the
assessment process by completing standard assessment tools with individual students and
direct clinical supervision as part of own caseload, acting as a mentor if required.
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
3
Professional
To ensure that own professional practice complies with the HPC Statement of Conduct.
To take responsibility for updating personal dietetic practice portfolio of continuous
professional development in line with national legislation for state registration.
To participate in consulting with/involving patients/public in service development and delivery.
To contribute to the Trusts’ and Departments Governance Agenda by participating in Clinical
Governance Meetings, Practice Development Work, Appraisal System and complying with
Risk Management requirements.
To demonstrate continuous professional development through active participation in and
facilitation of journal clubs, clinical effectiveness and clinical update sessions.
Research and Development
To participate in the measurement and evaluation of own clinical work and practice through
the use of evidence based projects, practice development work, audit and outcome
measures.
To use research findings to inform practice.
Communication
To communicate complex information in a comprehensible way to patients and carers who
may have significant communication and / or cognitive difficulties, language barriers requiring
the assistance of interpreters or registered blind / deaf.
To use advanced teaching and communication skills to educate a diverse and multicultural
patient group/population on essential and highly complex specialised dietary adaptations
needed for disease control/prevention.
To use advanced communication, counselling and interpersonal skills when delivering
sensitive information, breaking bad news to patients and/or carers, or dealing with aggressive
behaviour and contentious situations.
To use advanced cognitive behavioural therapy, reassurance and motivational skills to
negotiate, motivate and counsel patients, their carers and other HCPs to help overcome
barriers to change especially in situations of non-compliance.
To adjust and individualise how dietary information and advice is delivered to patients and
their carers by considering the social and medical circumstances, their level of intelligence
and ability to understand the information provided.
To access and operate a variety of computer data bases and information systems daily for
purposes including electronic communication with an extensive range of staff and relevant
professional bodies, researching specialised information, extracting patient information and
creating documents for presentations, letters and audits.
Supplementary Information
To manage and prioritise workload in a flexible manner considering frequent interruptions and
disturbances from bleeps and phone calls.
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
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To recognise and appropriately manage the emotional effort of being involved in the care of
acute, chronic or terminally ill patients through clinical supervision.
To manage the physical effort of working between hospital sites, frequently moving up and
down stairs, standing for long periods of time and carrying heavy folders.
To manage working in unpleasant conditions such as environments where there may be
unpleasant sights, noises, smells and temperature fluctuations e.g. hospital wards
General
To adhere to the UCLH Service Commitment "Putting Patients First" and adopt a professional
approach to customer care at all times.
To comply with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities Policy and treat staff, patients, colleagues and
potential employees with dignity and respect at all times.
To take personal responsibility for promoting a safe environment and safe patient care by
identifying areas of risk and following the Incident, Serious Incidents and Near Misses
reporting policy and procedure.
To take personal responsibility for ensuring that UCLH resources are used efficiently and with
minimum wastage, and to comply with the Trust's Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs).
To comply with Trust policies for personal and patient safety and for prevention of healthcareassociated infection (HCAI); this includes a requirement for rigorous and consistent
compliance with Trust policies for hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment and
safe disposal of sharps.
To be aware of and adhere to all Trust policies and procedures, the Health and Safety at
Work Act and the Data Protection Act.
To maintain confidentiality at all times.
Other
These guidelines are provided to assist in the performance of the contract but are not a
condition of the contract. The job description is not intended to be exhaustive and it is likely
that duties may be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances and after
consultation with the postholder.
All staff will be regularly assessed on their knowledge, skills and behaviour, and application of
all aspects of the job description, in line with the Trust’s Personal Development Review (PDR)
process.
Staff will also be expected to abide by the relevant code of professional practice relating to
their discipline.
*PLEASE NOTE: “Directorate”, “Board”, “Responsible to” and “Accountable to” may
differ for different posts, therefore please check in the post specific appendix for
details.
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
5
Post:
Specialist Dietitian
Dept:
Nutrition & Dietetic
Services
HOW WILL CRITERIA BE ASSESSED?
APPLICATION / TEST OR PRESENTATION /
INTERVIEW / REFERENCES
REQUIREMENTS
ESSENTIAL /
DESIRABLE*
A
Four year degree in Nutrition & Dietetics or
equivalent
E

HPC registered
E

Member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA)
or equivalent association
D

Post registration training in Cognitive Behaviour
Therapy
D

Post graduate study in specialist area of dietetics
e.g. PENG course, paediatric/renal modules
D

E

T/P
I
Knowledge & Qualifications
Experience
Post registration clinical experience
Knowledge of current issues relating to specialist
area of dietetics
Involvement in relevant specialist interest group

E
D

E


E


Skills & Abilities

Communication
Sound verbal and written communication
skills
Experience of multidisciplinary teamwork
Proven ability to communicate using a
variety of methods to a range of
professionals, non professionals and
patients

Flexible and adaptable to working alone or
with different groups
Awareness of need for confidentiality and
issues of consent
Personal and people development
Ability to reflect/ question/evaluate own
practice (evidence of CPD)
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
6
E

E

E
E



R
Experience of training student
dietitians/other HCPs
Proven organisational skills

E
Experience in the support and development
of junior members of staff
Teaching on degree (or higher level) /
professional course
Health, Safety and Security
Experience of conducting audit and/or
research, including the ability to analyse and
interpret statistics
Critical appraisal skills i.e. clinical and
professional documents
Computer literacy
D

E

D

E

E





E
E

E


E


E


Equality and Diversity
Awareness of equal opportunities and
diversity


Information collection and analysis
including IT skills
Anthropometry skills

D
Quality and service improvement
Experience in project management



E
Knowledge & understanding of clinical
governance and risk management and
relevance to dietetics


Other requirements
To manage the physical effort of working
between hospital sites, frequently moving up and
down stairs, standing for long periods of time and
carrying heavy folders.
To manage working in unpleasant conditions
such as environments where there may be
unpleasant sights, noises, smells and
temperature fluctuations e.g. hospital wards
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
7
KSF Outline
Core
Dimensions
Foundation
Gateway
( Subset Outline)
Level
Second Gateway
( Full Outline)
3 (A-C)
3 (A-F)
2
3
1 (A-C)
1 (A-E)
4
Health, Safety and
Security
Service Improvement
2 (A-C)
2 (A-F)
5
Quality
2 (A-D)
2 (A-F)
6
Equality & Diversity
2 (A+B)
2 (A-D)
HWB1
Promotion of Health
and Wellbeing and
Prevention of
Adverse Effects on
Health and Wellbeing
Assessment and
Treatment Planning
Interventions and
Treatments
Information collection
and analysis
Learning and
development
1 (A-E)
2 (A-G)
3 (A-J)
4 (A-J)
3
4
2 (A-C)
2 (A-C)
2 (A-F)
2 (A-F)
1
Communication
2
Personal and People
Development
3
Specific
Dimensions
HWB6
HWB7
IK2
G1
JD/PS Trust Format – February 2007
Updated Mar 2010
8
Level