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Specialist Mental Health Dietitian | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 23 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £42,471 - £50,364 per annum incl. of HCAs |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 22 June 2024 |
| Location: | Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3BX |
| Company: | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 6295682/334-CLI-6295682 |
Summary
Are you Dietitian who has a passion for providing excellence in the nutritional and dietetic care and who would like to work in mental health Dietetics? If yes, we would love to hear from you!
In this role all service users referred have a mental health diagnosis. Nutrition and Dietetic Services provide dietary treatment to support prevention and management of physical health conditions and to promote recovery of mental wellness.
Prior working within mental health dietetics is desirable, however we have successfully supported candidates keen to learn and work within this interesting area of dietetics.
Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:
We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We offer ongoing training and development in all areas of mental health via regular supervision, annual appraisal and agreeing a personal development programme. This includes attendance at internal and external courses, professional team meetings and shadowing of colleagues.
The post includes inpatient and outpatient clinic work with dietetic assessments and reviews offered both virtually and in-person. This role provides dietetic care to adults and older adult service users. The remit will include working on inpatient wards at the Ladywell unit within Lewisham University Hospital and our Croydon wards and medium and low secure units, at the Bethlem Royal Hospital. The post holder holds three outpatient dietetic clinics per month for Croydon and Lewisham service users, and provides a dietetic support to Heather Close Rehabilitation Service.
There is opportunity to work on National and Specialist units within the trust in order to develop the post holders areas of interest and / or to carry out quality improvement projects and / or research.
Referrals are mostly for under-nutrition, underweight and re-feeding syndrome or over-nutrition and metabolic syndrome linked to mental ill health and psychiatric medications, especially antipsychotics.
The post requires the ability to work effectively autonomously with individuals and groups, to be flexible, and manage own caseload.
Professionalism and excellent communication skills are key, including use of motivational interviewing techniques to help support behavioural change.
The team comprises 16 Dietitians and one Dietetic Administrator and is growing. The dietitians have specialised in mental health dietetics and/or eating disorders. We are a welcoming and friendly team, who are supportive of one another and our MDT colleagues. We work collaboratively and innovatively, building upon the evidence base to advance dietetic practice within mental health, striving to always be at the fore front of mental health dietetics and to provide excellence in dietetic care. Our dietetic offices are located at the Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospitals.
Flexible working:
The trust offers flexible working as part of our way of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Fridayin the time frames from7am to 7pm, giving you the very best of good work life balance. The majority of time spent in this role requires in-person working on site.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
Overall Job Purpose and responsibilities include:
To provide a kind, caring and responsive, evidence-based clinical nutrition and dietetics service to service users who have a primary mental health diagnosis on inpatient wards, including medium and low secure units, rehabilitation wards / services and dietetic clinics in the community.
· To be an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, representing and advocating for excellence in nutrition and dietetic care for all service users within the clinical remit.
· Support the service by providing nutrition knowledge, dietary advice and training for staff from a variety of other disciplines, which is sound, evidence based and up to date.
Raise awareness, understanding and effective implementation of the trust nutrition policy.
· To support the development, knowledge and use of the menus, which provide nutrition and hydration within the clinical remit together with the trust lead catering dietitian and trust stakeholders.
· To deliver and develop together with dietetic colleagues a well-established weight management programme for service users living in the community.
· To evaluate and develop dietetic care pathways, integrating, and adding to the latest evidence base, providing excellence, and advancing nutrition and dietetic care.
Personal Specification: Essential Requirements
Qualifications:
§ HCPC Registered Dietitian
§ Relevant Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics
§ Strong evidence of continuing professional development
§ Membership of British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional indemnity insurance
Experience:
§ Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in nutrition support, including refeeding syndrome, use of oral nutritional supplements and enteral tube feeding
§ Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in weight management and metabolic syndrome
Knowledge:
§ Excellent overall knowledge of clinical nutrition and dietetic care.
§ Knowledge of the cultural diversity of the client population, in particular food choices, cooking and eating practices
Skills / Abilities:
§ Excellent verbal and written communication skills
§ Skills in evaluating stage of change, motivation, barriers and supporting behavioural change
§ Able to build rapport and effective working relationships with service users and carers, who may be distressed or challenging.
§ Ability to work effectively autonomously with individuals and groups
§ Ability to work collaboratively and effectively in multi-disciplinary teams
§ Able to conduct clinical audit / service evaluations, quality improvement projects and apply the learning gained to make improvements
§ Able to apply the dietetic care process appropriately and effectively
§ Able to apply critical appraisal skills to research literature
§ Skill in managing and prioritising a clinical caseload
§ Ability to be flexible and juggle competing demands to meet the service and patients’ needs
§ Able to improve own and others’ practice by using skills of reflection and supervision
§ Able to demonstrate knowledge and adherence to appropriate professional standards
This advert closes on Thursday 6 Jun 2024