Band 7 Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main Duties

1. To maintain a complex clinical caseload within highly specialist areas of Paediatric Dietetics. This involves liaison with other health professionals, suppliers, patients and carers to facilitate the provision of appropriate, timely and cost effective nutritional treatment for children receiving specialist nutritional products.

2. To undertake comprehensive highly specialist assessments of patients clinical needs in a holistic manner using specialised clinical knowledge and skills and a broad range of nutritional assessment skills, measurements and techniques. This may include the use of dietary analysis software, anthropometric measurements, often in patients with diverse or complex nutritional and physical health needs.

1. To negotiate and agree dietary or nutritional goals with individual patients and/or their parents and carers, including those with diverse or complex nutritional and physical health needs and end of life issues. The post holder will need to use motivational interviewing, counselling and cognitive behaviour therapy tools as applicable. This may include identifying individual barriers to change and helping clients and carers to manage them.

1. To aim to meet these goals using appropriate nutritional interventions including enteral feeding, oral nutritional supplements or specialised formulae. To reassess nutritional requirements and change clinical interventions as appropriate in line with current evidence based practice.

1. To plan and deliver individualised nutritional care plans based on comprehensive highly specialist assessments of needs and knowledge of evidence based practice, modifying the care plans as required.

6. To respond appropriately to frequent requests for highly specialist Dietetic support which include those for children with complex physical health needs with complex clinical and social situations which require detailed analysis and decision-making.

7. To regularly communicate highly complex and sensitive information to families, carers and staff regarding diagnosis and prognosis and future expectations, gaining co-operation and trust in the ongoing management of the child.

1. Independently manage a caseload that includes children with complex eating and drinking difficulties, dealing with issues of mortality and ethical dilemmas.

1. Diagnosing nutritionally related disorders and being alert to symptoms and signs of wider systemic disease.

1. Directing referrals for specialist medical opinion where appropriate.

1. Being alert to safeguarding concerns and consent issues for children.

12. To be prepared to deal sensitively with service users, families and carers living with difficult diagnoses and life limiting conditions.

1. To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient records in line with the HCPC Code of Conduct and Trust Policies.

1. To provide dietetic leadership and expert opinion across the Trust in the area of common childhood nutrition disorders.

1. Provide support for children, their families and acute hospital Dietetic staff through the process of enteral tube fed placements.

1. To have an understanding of alternative communication systems that may be used by service users including sign language, gestures, Makaton and other non-verbal methods that will assist optimising a childs health.

1. To disseminate appropriate evidence/research findings and whenever possible ensure the integration of research/evidence based practice in the Department.

18. To support Service delivery and offer clinical leadership within the Birmingham Community Nutrition team and Childrens Services to facilitate effective patient care, service development and multidisciplinary working.

Professional

19. To adhere to the Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and the Dietitians' Standards of Proficiency of the Health and Care Professions Council.

20. To act in a professional manner promoting the organisation, the role of the Dietitian and the importance of nutritional care, respecting clients, carers and colleagues views, promoting a positive working environment.

21. To be responsible for logging, maintaining and demonstrating own competence to practice through participation in appraisals process and continual professional development (CPD), within the framework of the professional portfolio. This may also include membership of a BDA Specialist Interest Group.

22. To undertake the measurement and evaluation of own work and current practices through the use and application of evidence based practice, outcome measures and participation in audit and research as required.

23. Write reports containing highly complex, confidential and sensitive information, which may be used in a legal context.

Planning & Organisational

24. To support the service by leading areas of operational development as appropriate.

25. To work autonomously, prioritising in own work area, balancing all service users related and professional demands.

26. To teach staff from social care and health, education, health, voluntary and other agencies to assist in the delivery and implementation of Dietetic advice as appropriate.

27. To develop the Dietetic Service, implement policy and propose policy changes which impact beyond own area of activity.

28. To develop highly specialist knowledge and expertise for an identified area of service provision, as agreed with the manager and participate in strategic development in this area.

29. To collect and collate statistical activity data as required.

30. To provide cover for colleagues as necessary.

31. To be responsible for referring onto other professions and agencies as necessary.

32. To lead on audit and research within the Paediatric team to initiate and contribute to the development of standards and policies for paediatric dietetics.

33. Lead on the development and collection of clinical outcome data for the paediatric dietetic team to report to commissioners.

34. To develop and maintain links with Children & Families Division staff, attending meetings to ensure that the service works in collaboration with all childrens services and provides an expert nutrition service.

35. To lead on specific service/clinical developments as identified within the childrens service including inter-agency and multidisciplinary projects relating to the service objectives.

36. To provide regular reports to your line manager, advising on service delivery, clinical governance, policy development and audit, including proposing changes and developments.

37. To contribute to the department audit programme.

Management and Leadership Responsibilities

38. Develop and empower all members of your team to perform to high standards and innovate, working collaboratively with the Paediatric Dietitian Team Leader.

1. Working collaboratively with the Paediatric Dietitian Team Leader, ensure staff clinical supervision arrangements are in place. Ensure all staff in your team have annual practice peer review resulting in specific objectives and effective personal development plans in line with service objectives.

1. Develop staff knowledge and skills to promote equality and diversity and address inequalities both in employment and service delivery. Ensure specific equality objective are included in PDRs.

1. Develop a culture that ensure that the standards of Improving Working Lives and Investors in People are achieved and maintained for all staff and that staffs perception about their working lives are measured and improvements made.

1. Participate in the recruitment and selection of staff.

1. To identify and work with the Paediatric Dietitian Team Leader to manage clinical risk, including infection control risk, within the team caseload and support others to do so.

Training

1. Develop and empower all members of your team to perform to high standards and innovate, working collaboratively with the Paediatric Dietitian Team Leader.

1. Working collaboratively with the Paediatric Dietitian Team Leader, ensure staff clinical supervision arrangements are in place. Ensure all staff in your team have annual practice peer review resulting in specific objectives and effective personal development plans in line with service objectives.

To undertake other duties commensurate with this grade of post in agreement with the relevant line manager.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent in Dietetics
• Registered Dietitian with current HCPC registration
• Post graduate training or equivalent relevant experience within Paediatric Dietetics
• Evidence of CPD

Experience

Essential

• Extensive experience of working within paediatric dietetics
• Experience of developing, implementing and evaluating projects and audits.
• Experience of supervising staff.
• Experience of student training
• Experience of clinical dietetics at senior grade
• Experience of dietetic leadership
• Experience of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to demonstrate sound knowledge and practical application of current evidence based practice
• Excellent presentation skills
• Ability to reflect and appraise own performance.
• Ability to produce legible, written communication including reports
• Ability to work in a variety of setting and environments.

Other

Essential

• Ability to travel to different locations within the city

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS FT

Address

Gee Business Centre

Holborn Hill

Birmingham

B7 5JR

Employer's website

https://www.bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)