Specialist Bariatric Dietitian | Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The post holder will be a clearly identifiable senior clinical staff member. They will have significant clinical experience, provide sound clinical expertise to their team and more junior staff and coordinate and deliver high quality care. They will be a role model for expert clinical care, and lead on specific projects / service developments and management functions as delegated by the Band 7 Dietitian or Clinical Lead Dietitian. They will role model the identified Trust values at all times.

The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner in providing dietetic assessment, treatment and management to their own designated caseload of patients and to maintain up to date dietetic records. They will use evidence based principles and current best practise to assess, plan, implement and evaluate dietetic interventions.

The post holder will provide supervision, teaching and support to more junior staff, dietetic assistants and students on placement.

The service is currently reviewing the working pattern for therapy posts to include seven day working and cross-site working.

The post holder will work primarily within the bariatric surgery team, but will be expected to have competence in, and work in other areas of chronic disease management such as diabetes, lipids and weight management. Experience of managing enteral feeding and complex surgical inpatients is highly desirable.

Band 6 Specialist Bariatric Dietitian

Permanent. 1.0 WTE.

This is an exciting position for an experienced dietitian to join our bariatric surgery team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The job role will involve delivering care for patients on the surgical pathway including; pre-operative assessment, structured group education, preparing for surgery and post-operative follow up. You will work primarily in the outpatient clinics, as well as bariatric surgery inpatient care.

The successful candidate will join another band 7 and 8 dietitian and a dietetic assistant who work within a wider multidisciplinary team.

You will be a motivated team player and have good communication, time management and organisational skills for this busy role.

You will be actively engaged with department audit and service development and CPD activities. The department participates in the training of dietetic students and clinical and non-clinical staff.

You will require UK professional registration., To be professionally and legally responsible for the management of own clinical caseload and completion of related patient administrative tasks in a timely manner in line with HCPC and BDA (record keeping standards) and NHS trust policies/standards

Manage and prioritise your own designated clinical caseload and work as an autonomous practitioner without direct supervision

Demonstrate autonomy with obtaining diet histories, interpreting medical /nutritional diagnosis (e.g. biochemistry, anthropometrics, drug treatment and clinical condition), calculating nutritional requirements (and interpreting any other relevant information) to develop patient centred goals and dietetic treatment

To determine the patients understanding of the dieteticintervention in order to gain valid, informed consent and to be able to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment

To communicate patients dietetic treatment and progress of this to medical, nursing and other professional staff, through clear and accurate documentation in medical and nursing notes and dietetic records, in line with Trust and Dietetic department policies and through regular participation in multidisciplinary team meetings and ward rounds to ensure specific patient needs are met

To use clinical reasoning, understanding of the medical diagnosis, previous experience and knowledge of treatment options to plan and implement individual dietetic interventions for all patients including those with complex conditions whilst being able to recognise when advice/assistance from supervisor is required

Monitor and evaluate dietetic treatment to measure progress and effectiveness of the intervention, and be able to identify when treatment requires modifying

Where required to devise oral nutrition support and enteral feeding regimes and prescribe appropriate formulas based on medical condition, nutritional requirements, anthropometry and biochemical markers whilst taking into account religious, social and cultural factors

Taking responsibility for the ordering and maintenance of sufficient levels of feeds and supplements at ward level

To participate in the development and delivery of education sessions including group sessions for patients (and their carers)

To participate in the development and delivery of nutritional teaching/education for staff within the trust

Play an active role in the bariatric patient support group meetings

During staff absence to monitor caseloads of other staff and contribute to service cover arrangements

Demonstrate accountability for personal CPD to include; maintaining up-to-date knowledge and skills in bariatric surgery and obesity management and sharing relevant information with the team

To attend and contribute to the bariatric multi-disciplinary team meetings, ward rounds (and any other relevant meetings) to provide expert dietetic advice and/or information about individual patient progress, discuss concerns and prognosis

Play an active role in identifying and contributing to audit and service improvements and audits within the bariatric pathway

To be responsible for the assessment and planning of patient discharges (including enteral feeding, pump training) and arranging appropriate follow up after discharge with community teams, GP's and nutrition companies. Ensuring there is efficient communication and liaison with the GPs and community teams regarding nutrition related prescriptions and the nutritional management of patients

Participate in the supervision and training of more junior members of staff and dietetic students

To provide comprehensive documentation of assessment and treatment according to departmental, professional and legal standards

Promote and maintain a safe therapeutic environment for patients, their families and staff, according to national and local Infection Control guidelines, Health & Safety legislation, safeguarding legislation and procedures and Trust policies and objectives

Understand the Trust clinical governance framework, and participate in the promoting and safeguarding of high standards of care, through effective risk management & governance, and adherence to the Trust values

Professional

To maintain professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and comply with professional codes of practice, professional guidelines and trust policies at all times

To be responsible and accountable for keeping accurate and timely records and completing patient related letters in line with local hospital, HCPC and BDA record keeping standards

To be responsible for personal continuous professional development by the use of self-education, reflective practice, active participation in the in-service training program including giving presentations and attendance at postgraduate courses as agreed in your personal development plan and to maintain an up to date CPD portfolio

To ensure that all mandatory training is completed within the required timescales

To carry out an evidence-based project during specified time, communicate findings to other therapists in that team and make recommendations for change.

Have an awareness of current professional and clinical developments within your area of practice and promote this to others

To participate in the appraisal system as appraisee and be responsible for fulfilling your agreed objectives and personal development plan

To ensure adherence to Trust policy and guidelines at all times

To role model Trust values at all times

Organisational

To demonstrate good time management and organisational skills during daily management of own workload and to be able to adapt flexibly to sudden changes in workload

To carry an identified bleep as required by each clinical area and be able to respond to frequent interruptions

To ensure timely communication of assessment findings, treatment and outcomes to other involved disciplines through the provision of social services reports, discharge letters etc

To make appropriate and timely referrals to other members of the multidisciplinary team when required

To keep accurate and up-to-date patient records and statistics at all times in line with departmental, professional and legal standards

To be responsible for the safe use of all dietetic equipment e.g. enteral feeding pumps

To delegate specific tasks to dietetic assistants in line with departmental and professional guidelines

To understand and apply clinical governance principles to your own caseload and to be involved in departmental clinical governance sessions

To contribute to service and policy developments

To develop and maintain effective communication and working relationships with other professional groups, and staff generally within the Division and the Trust

To assist in the delivery of induction / orientation of new staff

To provide clinical support and guidance to staff and to act as a resource for clinical knowledge to staff

To understand and manage local change with team members, including the embedding of new projects

Communication

Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward

Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health conditions

These duties are not exhaustive and will be reviewed with the post holder, allowing for amendments within the broad scope and band level of the role

This job description may be subject to change according to the varying needs of the service. Such changes will be made after discussion between the post holder and his/her manager

All duties must be carried out under supervision or within Trust policy and procedure. You must never undertake any duties that are outside your area of skill or knowledge level. If you are unsure you must seek clarification from a more senior member of staff.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites-Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital-along with award-winning clinics across North West London.

Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us 'Good' in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and 'Outstanding' in leadership and resource use.

We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.

We welcome applications for flexible working arrangements, accommodating requests where possible to support our staff and patient needs.

The Trust is committed to equality and welcomes applications from all, regardless of background. Adjustments can be made for disabled candidates. Early application is advised as vacancies may close once sufficient applications are received. If you haven't heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probationary period.