Job summary
If you are a compassionate and caring individual, who works well within a team and has a strong desire to maximise the quality of life for people in the community with an artificial feeding tube, then this could be the role you are looking for!
This exciting post has developed from an expansion in the clientele of the Home Enteral Feeding (HEF) Dietetic team to include those with Profound & Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), who have feeding tubes in situ.
This post combines specialist MDT working within the Learning Disabilities care team to provide a high standard of dietetic service for the HEF PMLD clients for 0.6WTE.
The other 0.4WTE will be spent working with the small but dedicated HEF Dietetic Team, providing dietetic support and advice to home enterally fed adults, their carers/families/wider care team and to other Health Care Professionals across Cornwall.
The dietetic role as a HEF specialist within the Learning Disabilities care team is newly funded and as such there is the opportunity to establish, mould and develop the HEF service within the LD team and would therefore suit a driven and motivated individual.
Main duties of the job
You will be responsible for providing the HEF dietetic service to approx. 35 patients with PMLD out of the 140 HEF patients; working closely with the multi-disciplinary team for learning disabilities, to ensure a holistic & collaborative approach.
You will complete full assessments to gather nutritional and holistic information, enabling you to create suitable feeding regimens appropriate for individuals. Monitoring progress and making relevant adjustments is key to ensure a successful feeding care plan and a happy service user!
For all of the caseload we aim to provide a streamlined service that best meets peninsula HEF dietetic standards. Communication between all healthcare professionals is essential & thus is a key required skill.
Liaising with the contracted feed company to place and monitor feed/equipment orders as well as linking directly with feed company nurses is an important part of the daily tasks.
We work closely with the gastrostomy specialist dietitian giving the opportunity to extend the dietetic role towards obtaining competencies with gastrostomy tubes and stoma sites.
Developing and streamlining the service to ensure best evidence-based practice is provided by the team is also important. Creating & developing supporting protocols, policy's and procedures is integral to the service.
Supervision of assisting staff, peer support and student training is expected as part of this profession.
About us
There are two elements to this specialist HEF role; the well established dietetic role within the general HEF caseload, and the new role working with enterally fed patients with PMLD.
The adult HEF RD team consists of a band 6 peer dietitian, the team lead and an Assistant Practitioner, with additional close working alongside the gastrostomy specialist dietitian. We currently work remotely due to essential work being completed in our office building. This means we link mostly through Microsoft Teams, which can be isolating at times. However, our work involves us being out & about much of the time, so the comfort of being back in your own home in between can be beneficial. There is the potential of 'hot desking' at other offices around the county as/if required.
The new PMLD HEF post provides an exciting & fantastic opportunity for the right person to establish & develop the role within the LD MDT's. The support and professional involvement of the extensive MDT team is second to none and you will also have the benefit of the guidance and expertise of Briony Caffrey, who is one of the countries dietetic leads in this specialist area.
Whatever area of HEF you are active in, we all share the same objective of working hard to maintain the wellness of our clients; striving to help achieve or maintain quality of life.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To work as a senior autonomous practitioner providing dietetic support and advice to home enterally fed adults, their carers and other Health Care Professionals.
- To be responsible for, but not limited to, the dietetic care of the cohort of enterally fed patients with Profound & Multiple Learning Disabilities throughout Cornwall.
- To be involved with pre-PEG assessments and planning for tube insertion in appropriate patients, to ensure a smooth transition into the HEF service.
- To assist the timely and safe discharge of patients on home enteral feeding. This involves close working with acute dietetic & specialist learning disability colleagues, as well as the MDT & nutrition nurses, to ensure smooth transfer of care.
- To contribute to admission avoidance by
-
- Regularly monitoring and advising patients and community teams on enteral feeding at home
- Responding quickly to queries and issues; reviewing & advising re tube feed related issues; such as feed tolerance, bowel management, hydration etc
- Undertaking an extended role to provide care/repair of gastrostomy tubes and stoma care; escalating complex issues to appropriate professionals.
- To promote patient wellness & quality of life by creating feed & fluid care plans to meet nutritional requirements and maintain adequate hydration whilst minimising the impact of enteral feeding.
- To work closely with the East & West Cornwall LD MDTs to promote & ensure best care for the patient
- To coordinate service cover of the adult HEF caseload with dietetic colleagues.
- To contribute to policy development.
- To develop appropriate resources as required.
- To help to support and/or establish research and development, including annual audit of the HEF Nutrition and Dietetic service
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To work as a senior autonomous practitioner providing dietetic support and advice to home enterally fed adults, their carers and other Health Care Professionals.
- To be responsible for, but not limited to, the dietetic care of the cohort of enterally fed patients with Profound & Multiple Learning Disabilities throughout Cornwall.
- To be involved with pre-PEG assessments and planning for tube insertion in appropriate patients, to ensure a smooth transition into the HEF service.
- To assist the timely and safe discharge of patients on home enteral feeding. This involves close working with acute dietetic & specialist learning disability colleagues, as well as the MDT & nutrition nurses, to ensure smooth transfer of care.
- To contribute to admission avoidance by
-
- Regularly monitoring and advising patients and community teams on enteral feeding at home
- Responding quickly to queries and issues; reviewing & advising re tube feed related issues; such as feed tolerance, bowel management, hydration etc
- Undertaking an extended role to provide care/repair of gastrostomy tubes and stoma care; escalating complex issues to appropriate professionals.
- To promote patient wellness & quality of life by creating feed & fluid care plans to meet nutritional requirements and maintain adequate hydration whilst minimising the impact of enteral feeding.
- To work closely with the East & West Cornwall LD MDTs to promote & ensure best care for the patient
- To coordinate service cover of the adult HEF caseload with dietetic colleagues.
- To contribute to policy development.
- To develop appropriate resources as required.
- To help to support and/or establish research and development, including annual audit of the HEF Nutrition and Dietetic service
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in Nutrition/Dietetics or equivalent
- Health Professions Council (HPC) Registration as a Dietitian
- Current UK Drivers License
Desirable
- Advanced certificate in counselling skills or counselling experience
- PENG course in clinical nutrition
- Member of the British Dietetic Association
- A teaching qualification or experience teaching groups
- Attendance of the BDA course of Advancing Dietetics in Learning Disabilities
Experience
Essential
- Extensive and wide range of post registration dietetic experience in a health care setting.
- Experience of delivering dietetic service to complex enteral tube feed patients.
Desirable
- Experience of delivering dietetic services in the community
- Experience of providing a dietetic service to clients with learning disabilities
Practical & Intellectual Skills
Essential
- Evidence of being able to demonstrate best dietetic practice for a range of conditions
- Evidence of being able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people, using differing medias
- Evidence of being able to work effectively within teams & independently where appropriate
- Evidence of being able to evaluate and report on complex data
- Evidence of knowledge of and participation with Clinical Governance
- Evidence of having the ability to assess success and write reports
- Car driver with the ability to travel between sites and to patients' homes in a timely manner and as required by role.
- Advanced skills in creating enteral feeding regimens for complex patients in challenging situations
Desirable
- Experience and knowledge of a range of feeding tubes
- Experience and knowledge of how to manage different feeding tubes
- Experience and knowledge how to care for gastrostomy stomas
- Knowledge of Mental Capacity Act and application of it to dietetic practice
Disposition / Adjustment / Attitude
Essential
- Effective time management skills
- Ability to be flexible as role requires
- Able to prioritise effectively
- Can demonstrate empathy & sensitivity
- Able to work independently, seeking support as required
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in Nutrition/Dietetics or equivalent
- Health Professions Council (HPC) Registration as a Dietitian
- Current UK Drivers License
Desirable
- Advanced certificate in counselling skills or counselling experience
- PENG course in clinical nutrition
- Member of the British Dietetic Association
- A teaching qualification or experience teaching groups
- Attendance of the BDA course of Advancing Dietetics in Learning Disabilities
Experience
Essential
- Extensive and wide range of post registration dietetic experience in a health care setting.
- Experience of delivering dietetic service to complex enteral tube feed patients.
Desirable
- Experience of delivering dietetic services in the community
- Experience of providing a dietetic service to clients with learning disabilities
Practical & Intellectual Skills
Essential
- Evidence of being able to demonstrate best dietetic practice for a range of conditions
- Evidence of being able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people, using differing medias
- Evidence of being able to work effectively within teams & independently where appropriate
- Evidence of being able to evaluate and report on complex data
- Evidence of knowledge of and participation with Clinical Governance
- Evidence of having the ability to assess success and write reports
- Car driver with the ability to travel between sites and to patients' homes in a timely manner and as required by role.
- Advanced skills in creating enteral feeding regimens for complex patients in challenging situations
Desirable
- Experience and knowledge of a range of feeding tubes
- Experience and knowledge of how to manage different feeding tubes
- Experience and knowledge how to care for gastrostomy stomas
- Knowledge of Mental Capacity Act and application of it to dietetic practice
Disposition / Adjustment / Attitude
Essential
- Effective time management skills
- Ability to be flexible as role requires
- Able to prioritise effectively
- Can demonstrate empathy & sensitivity
- Able to work independently, seeking support as required
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
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).
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