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Location

Tooting, Greater London | United Kingdom

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Job description

A Vacancy at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We are looking for an enthusiastic eating disorder outpatient dietitian to join our team. The post holder will provide highly specialist dietetic input to individuals receiving outpatient eating disorder treatment at South West London and St. George’s Mental Health Trust. The successful candidate will manage a caseload of individuals with eating disorders, deliver dietetic assessments and therapeutic interventions to the patient group and will work as an integrated member of the multidisciplinary team.

Candidates should be a Registered Dietitian with experience of working in eating disorders.

South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We have career pathways available, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties.

To provide a highly specialist dietetic service to adult out-patients receiving treatment from the St Georges Eating Disorders Team at Springfield Hospital.

To undertake comprehensive assessments of each patient’s diet and lifestyle to formulate individualised management and treatment plans ensuring optimal outcome whilst minimising risk.

To act as a source of expertise on the dietary management of eating disorders to medical staff, nursing staff, other health professionals, GPs, external agencies such as local community mental health teams and the dietetic department.

Agile and flexible working:

As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

About our locations:

Springfield University Hospital, Tooting

Our largest, 19-ward site is in Springfield Village, created following our £150m investment into two new world class mental health facilities. A 32-acre public park, shops and cafes are coming soon. Close to shops, cafes and Tooting Bec on the Northern Line plus Earlsfield and Tooting rail stations and bus routes.

Clinical
• To provide a specialist dietetic service to adults with eating disorders in an outpatient setting. This involves working with patients and multidisciplinary team members to identify and address the complex psychological and social factors that affect compliance with dietary treatment, thus enabling long term / permanent lifestyle changes.
• To provide specialist advice to patients with eating disorders deemed to be at high physical risk.
• To undertake comprehensive assessments of each patient’s diet and lifestyle to formulate individualised management and treatment plans ensuring optimal outcome whilst minimising risk. The assessments include interpreting biochemical data and using quantitative/ qualitative analysis of nutritional information.
• To be aware of and able to identify patients at high psychiatric risk (e.g. of suicide) and liaise with the multidisciplinary team regarding the management of risk in these patients
• To communicate effectively with patients. This involves giving dietary advice to patients with multifaceted emotional, physical and psychological problems where acceptance is potentially difficult This will also occasionally involve working in conditions requiring the ability to react sensitively where patients have a history of physical, sexual and/ or mental abuse.
• To work autonomously within the eating disorders team with little or no daily supervision
• To run group teaching on dietetic issues for patients to aid recovery from their eating disorder
• To be aware of and be able to identify patients at high psychiatric risk and liaise with the team regarding the management of these patients
• To promote awareness of the role of the dietitian within the services, negotiating priorities where appropriate.
• To work effectively as a team member of the dietetic service, providing a flexible service, covering as appropriate other dietetic services. This will include complex enteral feeding (PEG and nasogastric feeds) and cover for the inpatient EDS
• To maintain a high standard of clinical practice.
• To work as a member of the multidisciplinary/ integrated team, establishing collaborative working relationships, sharing skills and information.
• To be actively involved in clinical team meetings, and care plan review meetings as required.
• To be responsible for clinical equipment used by the dietetic team, ensuring that all departmental policies are adhered to & safe use by other staff and clients.

Communication
• To use advanced communication skills of persuasion, motivation and explanation. This may include cognitive behavioural therapy.
• To communicate with referring agents and other agents as necessary through personal, written, telephone contact and email
• To communicate effectively with service users and carers for whom there may be significant barriers to understanding using a range of verbal and non verbal communication skills and taking account of a range of intellectual and communication abilities and mental health and emotional states.
• To communicate effectively with all MDT members, actively involved in treatment planning.
• To establish effective communication networks with dietitians and other colleagues
• To use skills and knowledge in a consultative manner where appropriate, providing specialist advice and support to service users, professional staff and other relevant agencies.
• To advise the Head of Physical Therapies on professional and clinical issues relating to nutrition, dietetics or clinical governance issues.
• To liaise with Dietitians at acute hospitals and primary care regarding patients being transferred between services.

Documentation
• To maintain accurate & timely clinical records of care – assessment / progress / discharge reports via the electronic records system (RIO) for all clients in accordance with Trust policies.
• To be responsible for diet sheets, information and other literature for the care groups that the job encompasses.
• To ensure that clinical documentation is maintained in accordance with professional and service / documentation standards, for own & delegated responsibilities.
• To provide clinical reports as required in line with professional guidance and relevant clinical pathways.
• To maintain administrative and statistical information as required and submit it in a timely manner and to ensure that activity data is recorded in accordance with Trust policies.

Professional Ethics

• To adhere to the professions Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
• To exercise good personal time management, punctuality, reliable attendance & appropriate professional behaviours at all times.
• To be apply relevant professional standards and participate in audit as appropriate.
• To act as a resource for colleagues may seek specialist knowledge, or information about Dietetics in Mental Health.
• To respect the values, individuality, cultural and religious diversity of service users and to develop services appropriately.
• To demonstrate continuing fitness to practice through maintaining registration with HPC and compliance with their standards.
• To undertake relevant activities to meet identified training objectives.
• To maintain a CPD file & record of training / development and to fully meet the B7 Dietitian KSF outline.

Leadership, Supervision & Appraisal
• To be able to demonstrate self management (managing own emotions and displaying resilience in complex / demanding situations).
• To participate in regular professional and operational supervision and engage in annual development reviews.
• To supervise the junior dietetic staff working in EDS
• To proactively engage in continuing professional development and maintain evidence in line with HPC and KSF responsibilities

Training
• To act as a resource for junior members of dietetic staff.
• To be responsible for organising the rolling programme of pre-treatment education sessions for patients and carers awaiting treatment with the Eating Disorders Service.
• To run group teaching and menu planning sessions on dietetic issues for patients to aid recovery from their eating disorder
• To provide advice, teaching and instruction to other professionals and other relevant agencies, to promote an understanding of the aims of dietetics and to ensure a consistent approach to client care.
• To provide specialist advice, teaching and training to other members of the multidisciplinary/integrated team including supervision of any devolved clinical techniques.
• Assist with the induction of dietetic staff, including agency staff when necessary.
• To provide teaching and lecturing to medical, nursing and other staff on eating disorders on a regular basis
• To provide input for the training of student Dietitians on the ‘B’ and ‘C’ placement programme
• To provide training and supervision to nursing and therapy staff to enable them to give basic dietetic advice to patients of low physical risk treated by the eating disorders team and to advise medical staff on the nutritional care of their patients
• To receive and deliver relevant in-service training and attend courses in line with service and team objectives and continual professional development as agreed with the dietetic team leader
• Act as a source of advice, training and post graduate education to other Dietitians within the Trust.

Service Development & Delivery
• To ensure that there is dietetic advice to support the monitoring of the Trust’s catering contracts and delivery of a positive patient experience at mealtimes
• To participate in dietetic team meetings
• To keep up to date with clinical developments and introduce new practices as appropriate within the service.
• To provide specialist advice to support compliance with national standards.
• To advise on health promotion / preventative work from a nutrition and dietetic perspective.
• To engage in the development and implementation of relevant care pathways.
• Demonstrate the ability gather information from a wide range of resources to inform service development.

Clinical Governance, Quality & Standards
• To comply with all Trust policies.
• Ensure adherence to all Health & Safety policies, helping clinical teams manage risks, and taking responsibility for monitoring safety of working practice.
• To implement National Service Framework, National Institute of Clinical Excellence Guidance and clinical governance legislation/risk management within the speciality.
• Continual drive to improve the quality of own work.
• To actively engage in practice development, evaluation, audit, local standard & outcome measure development relevant to area of practice and in line with Trust priorities.
• To promote evidence based practice.
• To contribute to the development of clinical governance and the quality agenda for nutrition and dietetics.

Other
• To maintain stock supplies as an authorised signatory for tools, feeds and equipment budgets across the Trust.
• The post holder must hold a current driving license/be able to use own car during working hours or travel efficiently between sites.
• The post holder must be prepared to work some evenings/weekends if required.

This advert closes on Monday 11 Mar 2024

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Job tags

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Salary