Job responsibilities
Job Purpose
- To work as part of Dudley Health economy as Primary Care Network(PCN) Dietetic Lead
- To work with the PCN to improve population health, reducing the need for hospitalisation, enabling self-care of long term conditions
- To help to manage the use of nutritional borderline substances
- To develop the clinical specialist role to allow new methods of service delivery, implementation of national guidelines and decision making on the optimal patient pathway
Structure Chart
- To work as part of Dudley Health economy as the PCN dietetic lead
- To work with the PCN to improve population health, reducing the need for hospitalisation, enabling self-care of long term conditions
- To promote and food first approach and ensure oral nutritional supplements are used appropriately
- To manage your own clinical case load
- To develop the clinical specialist role to allow new methods of service delivery, implementation of national guidelines and decision making on the optimal patient pathway
- To promote dietetics service and to ensure that dietetics is included in the strategic development of services.
- A core element of the work will be working with other MDT members and services in the planning and delivery of patient care throughout the patient care pathway, acting as a point of expertise to the primary care network and to the MDT, developing and maintaining cross professional links within the hospital and in the community.
- To obtain necessary advanced dietetic practitioner skills.
- To work as a lone practitioner in community settings such as GP surgeries and health and social care centres
- To liaise closely with the community dietetics core team, hospital acute dietetics team and medicines management dietitian
Managerial responsibilities
- To evaluate the PCN dietetic service and to identify opportunities for service improvement.
- To be involved in the facilitation of training and clinical supervision of Dietetic students.
- To discuss patients and relatives experiences with them in order to prevent complaints from developing and to assist in investigating and responding to complaints when they arise.
- To collect and monitor agreed outcome and performance metrics
- To work to an agreed work plan to ensure balance between patient related and other professional demands
- Be involved in the development, reviewing and updating of relevant local policies, procedures, guidelines as appropriate
Clinical Skills
- Responsible for the nutritional care given to patients, in a variety of settings including their own homes, care homes and community clinics. This will involve exposure to these environments.
- To work as a first contact practitioner within GP practices with the support of a GP mentor/community dietetic department lead
- To educate and counsel patients, carers and groups about the importance of nutrition, using advanced motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural and counselling skills to help them to improve their nutritional intake.
- To provide specialised dietary advice, both verbal and written tailored to meet individual patient needs, which reflect diagnosis prognosis and individuals circumstances.
- To contribute to ethical discussions about the nutritional intake and the appropriateness of enteral feeding in individual cases.
- To assess nutritional requirements, status and factors affecting nutritional intake as well as patients circumstances and ability to change, employing best practice and evidence based information
- To be able to identify when patients require a referral on to specialist services in a timely manner
- To arrange continuing care as necessary in an appropriate setting or by telephone, in order to facilitate understanding and dietary compliance.
- To support the use of the nutritional screening tool in the community.
- Manage interactions in complex situations including individuals with particular psychological and mental health needs with support of colleagues across the primary care team
- Partake in clinical audit and research studies, present data, and seek publication of findings in appropriate journals
Communication and relationship skills
- To assess patient capacity, gain consent, and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment
- To use a variety of modes for communication including face to face, video and telephone contacts
- To liaise with and convey complex information to a variety of professionals including GPs, practice nurses, district nurses, health visitors, care home staff, other dietitians and carers, to ensure a seamless service for patients.
- Establish, develop and maintain relationships with external services and key people in Dudley primary care and community services and Dudley CCG in order to inform dietetic department manager of trends in service specialties and patient pathways.
- To attend the PCN meetings as required.
- To provide resources such as leaflets, recipes and menu plans.
- To plan deliver and evaluate educational sessions to groups of clients and other health care professionals on agreed topics.
Clinical Governance
- To ensure all the required Health and Safety and clinical and non-clinical risk assessments are completed and reviewed and that risks are identified and managed as required using information from these effectively, to improve processes and practices.
- To ensure Trust safeguarding policy and procedures are followed and best interest meetings are attended when appropriate
Professional
- To undertake a personal development review with your line manager on an annual basis.
- Establish networks with other specialists at a local, national and international level to exchange and enhance knowledge and expertise
- To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients in your care, in accordance with the Professional Code of Practice and the HCPC standards of proficiency, conduct, performance and ethics.
- To undertake mandatory training as outlined by DUDLEY Integrated Healthcare NHS
Organisation Values
Employees, workers, and / or contractors will be expected to uphold the values of the Organisation and exhibit the expected Organisation behaviours aligned to the Organisations values. Individuals have a responsibility to ensure that they display the Organisation values and behaviours in carrying out their job and that individuals feel able to challenge (or raise a challenge) when other colleagues behaviours breach the spirit of Organisation values.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
Staff are to familiarise themselves with the Employers data protection policy when this is available, which sets out its obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation, the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and all other data protection legislation. You must comply with the Employers data protection policy at all times and you agree that you will only access the systems, databases or networks to which you have been given authorisation and only for the purposes of your work for the Employer. The Employer will consider a breach of its data protection policy by you to be a disciplinary matter which may lead to disciplinary action up to and including summary dismissal.
Data Quality
The post holder should ensure any data/information prepared for either internal or external analysis is fit for purpose i.e. that it is accurate, valid, reliable, timely, relevant and complete.
Clinical Governance
All employees are required to actively contribute towards the Organisations clinical governance systems, taking responsibility as appropriate for quality standards, and work towards the continuous improvement in clinical and service quality.
Infection Prevention & Control
Infection prevention & control is everybodys responsibility, it is a requirement for all Organisation staff to comply with all Organisation infection control policies and procedures.
- All Organisation staff should ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities for infection prevention and control, that they provide leadership where appropriate in infection control matters and that they challenge poor infection control practice in their workplace.
- All staff must adhere to the Organisations Hand Decontamination Policy
Safeguarding Adults
Safeguarding is Everybodys Business. It means protecting peoples health, well-being and human rights. It includes protecting their rights to live in safety, free from abuse and harm; taking their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs into account. In the West Midlands, the main statutory agencies work together to promote safer communities, to prevent harm and abuse and to deal with actual or potential when concerns arise. These Organisations which include Dudley Integrated Healthcare NHS work together to achieve these outcomes by working within the Safeguarding Adults multi-agency policy and procedures for the West Midlands and adhering to the local Safeguarding Adult policy and procedures. Staff can contact the Organisation Named Nurses for Safeguarding Adults or a member for advice and support if they have concerns.
Safeguarding Children
All members of staff have a responsibility to ensure that children and young people are safe from abuse or harm. Employees must comply with Local Safeguarding Board Child Protection Policy and Procedures and Dudley Integrated Healthcare NHS Safeguarding Children Policy. Staff can contact the Organisation Named Nurses for Safeguarding Children or a member for advice and support if they have concerns.
Professional / Managerial Codes of Practice
The post holder is expected to abide by the relevant codes of practice of the registering body for healthcare professionals, and, where applicable, the NHS Code of Conduct for managers.
