Job summary
Surrey Downs Health & Care Are you an experienced and motivated dietitian looking to make a real difference in the community? We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Specialist Community Dietitian to join our Neuro-Rehabilitation Service within Surrey Downs Health and Care. You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team delivering high-quality dietetic care to patients with a range of neurological conditions, including stroke, within their homes, care homes, and community clinics. This role also involves supporting patients with enteral feeding, complex nutritional needs, and contributing to holistic rehabilitation pathways. What we're looking for:
- HCPC-registered Dietitian with post-registration experience
- Experience working with patients with neurological conditions, including stroke
- Strong communication, clinical reasoning, and team working skills
- Confidence in managing enteral feeding and ethical issues in a community setting
- Motivation to contribute to service improvement and audit activities
Please note:A valid UK driving licence and access to a car for work purposes are essential for this role due to community-based visits.
Why join us?Surrey Downs Health and Care is a partnership that brings together acute, community, and primary care services to deliver integrated, person-centred care. You'll benefit from working within a supportive and progressive team with access to professional development opportunities and flexible working. If you are passionate about community rehabilitation and want to be part of an innovative team, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
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Specialist Dietetic Input: Provide specialist dietetic input to patients in the community with long-term conditions, including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease.
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High-Quality Nutrition and Dietetic Service: Deliver a specialist and high-quality nutrition and dietetic service to support patients requiring nutritional advice (both oral and enteral) in the community.
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Community Hospitals: Provide specialist dietetic services to local community hospitals.
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Malnutrition Risk Reduction: Reduce the risk of malnutrition by upskilling health and social care professionals on diet and appropriate nutritional care plans in community settings.
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Collaborative Work: Collaborate with the Prescribing Support Dietitian to ensure the appropriate and cost-effective use of Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS) in the community.
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Service Delivery: Work alongside all members of the dietetic department to ensure the delivery of a high-quality service that meets professional standards and fulfils clinical governance requirements.
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Policy and Guidelines Contribution: Contribute to the development and implementation of evidence-based policies, guidelines, and procedures for managing this client group.
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NICE Guidance and Local Care Pathways: Support the implementation of NICE guidance and local care pathways.
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Caseload Management: Manage your own caseload, time, and meetings effectively to meet daily deadlines.
About us
Surrey Downs Health and Care deliver care closer to people's own communities through our Primary Care Networks, Community Hospitals, Specialist Services and our innovative partnership of local NHS organisations.
Surrey Downs Health and Care has a track record of providing person centered care that goes beyond organisational boundaries to do what is best for the individual. This partnership includes:
- The three GP federations GP Health Partners, Dorking Health Care and Surrey Medical Network representing practices that operate in the Surrey Downs area
- CSH Surrey
- Epsom and St Helier's University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Surrey Council County
Historically, there have been boundary lines between the organisations that provide care to people in their homes, in GP surgeries and in hospitals, but we have always been united in our mission to provide great care to the people who need us.
It's on those grounds that the Surrey Downs Health and Care was formed - we want local people to receive the care that they need in the right environment. By bringing together our expertise, we can improve patient care and enable local people to access the right support, care and treatment more easily than ever before.
In bringing this partnership together, we are working to the same set of values that will translate into better care for our residents.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Clinical Caseload Maintenance: Maintain a clinical caseload and collaborate with other health professionals, suppliers, patients, and carers to provide timely, appropriate, and cost-effective nutrition support for patients on oral nutritional supplements in all community settings.
- Comprehensive Patient Assessment: Undertake comprehensive assessments of patients' clinical needs using specialised clinical knowledge, skills, and a broad range of nutritional assessment techniques.
- Timely Documentation: Ensure all consultation notes are completed within 24 hours of patient and/or third-party contact in accordance with the code of conduct and Trust policies.
- Dietary Goal Negotiation: Negotiate and agree on dietary or nutritional goals with individual patients and/or their carers using motivational interviewing, counselling, and cognitive behaviour therapy tools. Identify individual barriers to change and help patients manage them.
- Annual Audit Participation: Actively participate in the department's annual audit program.
- Service Provision Reporting: Provide regular reports on service provision and proactively discuss future service development initiatives with your line manager.
- Professional Contribution: Contribute to dietetic staff meetings, clinical effectiveness activities, journal reviews, peer reviews, team meetings, supervision, and working groups.
- Flexible Service Delivery: Ensure flexible service delivery, including providing cover for other clinical areas or colleagues within the department as needed.
- Continuous Learning: Stay abreast of current literature and share learning with colleagues.
- Risk and Assessment Management: Ensure appropriate risk and other assessments are completed and documented by yourself and team members in a timely manner, in accordance with Trust policies.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Clinical Caseload Maintenance: Maintain a clinical caseload and collaborate with other health professionals, suppliers, patients, and carers to provide timely, appropriate, and cost-effective nutrition support for patients on oral nutritional supplements in all community settings.
- Comprehensive Patient Assessment: Undertake comprehensive assessments of patients' clinical needs using specialised clinical knowledge, skills, and a broad range of nutritional assessment techniques.
- Timely Documentation: Ensure all consultation notes are completed within 24 hours of patient and/or third-party contact in accordance with the code of conduct and Trust policies.
- Dietary Goal Negotiation: Negotiate and agree on dietary or nutritional goals with individual patients and/or their carers using motivational interviewing, counselling, and cognitive behaviour therapy tools. Identify individual barriers to change and help patients manage them.
- Annual Audit Participation: Actively participate in the department's annual audit program.
- Service Provision Reporting: Provide regular reports on service provision and proactively discuss future service development initiatives with your line manager.
- Professional Contribution: Contribute to dietetic staff meetings, clinical effectiveness activities, journal reviews, peer reviews, team meetings, supervision, and working groups.
- Flexible Service Delivery: Ensure flexible service delivery, including providing cover for other clinical areas or colleagues within the department as needed.
- Continuous Learning: Stay abreast of current literature and share learning with colleagues.
- Risk and Assessment Management: Ensure appropriate risk and other assessments are completed and documented by yourself and team members in a timely manner, in accordance with Trust policies.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics
- HCPC State Registration
Desirable
- Relevant MSc or post registration qualification e.g. Low Fodmap or PENG clinical Update
- Member of BDA
- Member of a special interest group of the BDA e.g. PENG Group
Skills
Essential
- Clinically competent to give specialist advice, treatment and dietary support and counselling to support behaviour changes in adults and their carers with diverse health needs
- Ability to manage time effectively, meet deadlines and manage work pressures and competing demand
- Ability to work independently with regular supervision and support from senior clinicians and work as part of a team
Desirable
- Excellent Presentation skills, both written and verbal, and ability to adjust style and content as appropriate
- Ability to carry out audit and research
- Understanding of clinical governance, professional issues and ethics and their application in practice
Experience
Essential
- Expertise in managing enteral feeding, including addressing the ethical considerations associated with enteral feeding in community settings.
- Negotiation and problem-solving skills
- Understanding of safeguarding issues
Desirable
- Able to work in a co-operative and collaborative way with others
- Ability to effectively cope with working in stressful environments, including managing interactions with emotional or aggressive patients and carers.
- CBT/ Motivational interview/ Behaviour Change Training
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Ability to travel to and throughout Surrey Downs to visit patients in their homes and care facilities.
Desirable
- Experience of working with EMIS.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics
- HCPC State Registration
Desirable
- Relevant MSc or post registration qualification e.g. Low Fodmap or PENG clinical Update
- Member of BDA
- Member of a special interest group of the BDA e.g. PENG Group
Skills
Essential
- Clinically competent to give specialist advice, treatment and dietary support and counselling to support behaviour changes in adults and their carers with diverse health needs
- Ability to manage time effectively, meet deadlines and manage work pressures and competing demand
- Ability to work independently with regular supervision and support from senior clinicians and work as part of a team
Desirable
- Excellent Presentation skills, both written and verbal, and ability to adjust style and content as appropriate
- Ability to carry out audit and research
- Understanding of clinical governance, professional issues and ethics and their application in practice
Experience
Essential
- Expertise in managing enteral feeding, including addressing the ethical considerations associated with enteral feeding in community settings.
- Negotiation and problem-solving skills
- Understanding of safeguarding issues
Desirable
- Able to work in a co-operative and collaborative way with others
- Ability to effectively cope with working in stressful environments, including managing interactions with emotional or aggressive patients and carers.
- CBT/ Motivational interview/ Behaviour Change Training
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Ability to travel to and throughout Surrey Downs to visit patients in their homes and care facilities.
Desirable
- Experience of working with EMIS.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
