Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Community Paediatric Dietitian to join Ealing Community Dietetics within Central North West London NHS Trust, working with Ealing Community Partners.

This is a full-time permanent post.

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Main duties of the job

JOB SUMMARY

To provide and develop the community Paediatric Nutrition and Dietetic Service in the borough of Ealing, West London

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• To provide and develop specialist clinics and domiciliary visits within agreed localities where you will assess, diagnose nutritional problems, manage and treat children with medical conditions requiring nutritional management. This may involve organising provision of enteral feeds and equipment
• To work collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary teams within secondary care, primary care and local authority settings and act as source of expertise
• To develop and provide nutrition education and training to professionals within Ealing and student dietitians
• To clinically supervise and develop the band 6 paediatric dietitian.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties:

• Clinical

1.1. To work autonomously as a highly skilled band 7 independent practitioner to provide specialist/expert dietary advice to patients with a wide range of medical conditions and to carers, parents, clinicians and other professionals. Or work towards this if in the developmental band 6 role.

1.2. To work as an integral member of the multidisciplinary teams (including, community paediatricians, community paediatric health care professionals, local authority personnel) to provide a flexible, prioritised service based on clinical need within community settings. Community paediatric clinics will be provided in health centres, a domiciliary service to patient’s homes, day centres, schools and nurseries and other venues in Ealing.

1.3.. To advise patients, families and carers on appropriate dietary intervention using a range of developed communication and teaching skills to ensure understanding and promote the effective management of their condition.

1.5. To undertake a comprehensive assessment of a child’s condition including anthropometric measurements, understanding drug treatments and interpreting other clinical test results including biochemistry results, with relevance to the dietary intervention(s) required. To diagnose nutritional problems

1.6. To plan and deliver individualised nutritional care plans based on the comprehensive assessment of the child’s needs. Where appropriate, liaising with other health professionals to advise on changes and treatment / medication or requests of further investigations. To ensure you organise nutritional supplements you are responsible for or recommend nutritional supplements for prescription by doctors.

1.7. To evaluate outcomes of dietetic intervention through the monitoring and review of nutritional care plans and adjust care plans to facilitate achievement of goals.

1.8. To use current evidence and best practice to recommend and implement alternative approaches to dietetic intervention for the management of children in your care.

1.9. To participate in clinical risk assessment, clinical audit and research activities for the purpose of ensuring clinical effectiveness, measuring positive health care outcomes and the promotion of a quality service provided to children.

1.10. To communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with patients /carers/extended families from a wide range of backgrounds, to gain consent, ensure understanding of condition treatment options, risks, acceptance and compliance with dietary treatment which may include unwelcome or difficult to accept information e.g. children on lifelong synthetic diets or terminally ill

1.11. To apply highly developed communication and interpersonal skills to facilitate change taking into account emotional, physical, social and Psychological barriers e.g. behavioural problems, resistant parental attitudes. To effectively use interpreters, sign language, Information Technology or other means of communication appropriate to the client’s requirements

• To be or work towards being an expert source of advice for patients/carers, nursing and other staff on home enteral tube feeding including feeding plans and prescription/provision of appropriate feed and equipment, care of tubes, complications and problem solving. This will include organising new and modifying existing feeding packages for patients, advising/liaising with paediatric home nursing team, nurses, health visitors, hospital staff, social services, feed companies, pharmacists, General Practitioners and speech and language therapists.
• To promote and ensure multi-disciplinary/multi-agency collaborative working to promote continuity of care. To initiate multi-disciplinary joint domiciliary visits where possible, attend multi-disciplinary team meetings e.g. child development team, diabetes team and case conferences. To provide timely and informative patient progress reports/discharge summaries to secondary, primary care and local authority/social services. To refer to other health professionals/social services wheappropriate
• To collect agreed statistical information in accordance with Trust and Dietetic Team standards.

2 Teaching/Nutrition Education

• To identify and assess community health professional nutritional training needs, plan and deliver at all levels to professionals in Ealing e.g. health visitors, nurses, medical staff, Allied Health Professionals. This could include formal training e.g. presentations to large groups as well as informal e.g. health professional shadowing you at clinics,
• To provide the training, supervision and assessment of undergraduate and post-graduate student dietitians as part of the dietetic placement training.In addition, to provide support and training when appropriate for student nurses and other student allied health professionals and student doctors.
• To participate in the training, orientation and induction of new members of staff and peer support of other paediatric colleagues.
• To clinically supervise and professionally develop the junior paediatric team and assistant in paediatrics.
• Clinical governance
• To measure and evaluate your own work to ensure evidence based practice and reflective learning. To identify areas to participate in dietetic and multidisciplinary research and audit to support the development of evidence based practice,
• To work in collaboration with the multidisciplinary and dietetic teams to develop, implement and evaluate local evidence based guidelines, protocols and care pathways within the specialities of paediatric community services to help ensure patients receive high quality dietetic care & management
• To develop and review evidence based written information material and resources for patients and carers to support dietetic intervention. To ensure information material meets the needs of different social, ethnic and client needs, i.e. people with learning disabilities
• To contribute to the implementation of national and local strategies and Initiatives.
• To be responsible for equipment in your care e.g. scales, tape measures, Callipers, mobile phones, laptops
• To be responsible for allocating and checking clerical work you give to theadministrative support of the department and clinical work to the assistants.
• Professional
• To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of children in your care, keeping accurate patient records in accordance with the Health Care Professions Council guidance and recording appropriate activity data in accordance with the Trust’s and Dietetic Service Policies and Procedures.
• To be responsible for own continuous professional and personal development, including the participation in clinical supervision, the appraisal scheme and maintaining an up to date professional portfolio in line with national legislation by the Health Care Professions Council.
• To work in accordance with the dietetic service and the Trust’s policies and procedures. To abide by safeguarding principles and procedures and child protection policies.
• To maintain highly specialist knowledge and clinical expertise through the attendance of relevant study days, courses, conferences, departmental meetings, journal club and clinical update meetings.
• To develop and maintain skills required to practice at an advanced level, within the area of home enteral tube feeding/paediatrics.
• To and act in accordance with the Code of Professional Conduct of the Health Care Professionals Council
• To work under minimal supervision but have access to regular one to one practice and clinical supervision and safeguarding supervision
• To attend Mandatory in service training
• To be an active member of the Ealing Paediatric groups and forums across the Trust and nationally
• To work in isolation and conduct domiciliary visits. To carry mobile phones in accordance with the lone workers policy
• To be responsible for managing time effectively, planning, prioritising and organising your own workload, balancing patient related and other professional demands, pressures and deadlines. To arrange for cover for personal planned absence in agreement with the Head of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Person specification:

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Extensive experience of training/teaching healthcare professionals & Students
• Clinical dietetic paediatric knowledge and experience including enteral feeding in children
• Experience of clinical audit, methods of evaluation and critical appraisal
• Experience of contributing to service development and quality improvement
• Knowledge and application of counselling skills/motivational interviewing/behavioural change
• Good knowledge of evidence based practice in paediatrics
• Knowledge of diversity issues and ability to work with people from a wide variety of backgrounds
• Knowledge and application of safeguarding principles

Desirable

• Supervision of junior staff
• Advanced knowledge of evidence based practice in paediatrics
• Experience of contributing to service development including knowledge of developing and implementing policies, guidelines and standards

Education/ Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Dietetics
• Health Care Professions Council Registration as a Dietitian
• MSc in Advanced Dietetic Practice including paediatrics OR extensive clinical dietetic experience in Paediatrics at band 6 or above.
• At least 3 year’s clinical experience of paediatric dietetics post registration.
• Evidence of CPD in paediatrics post registration

Desirable

• Post registration BDA Paediatric Specialist Courses