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Job summary

Main area
Therapy
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 6
Contract
Permanent: 30 Hours
Hours
Part time - 30 hours per week
Job ref
409-6754313
Employer
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Whiston Hospital
Town
Prescot
Salary
£37,338 - £44,962 per annum, pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
25/11/2024 23:59
Interview date
10/12/2024

Employer heading

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust logo

Specialist Paediatric Dietitian

NHS AfC: Band 6

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

Are you an enthusiastic and motivated Band 5 or Band 6 Dietitian, wanting to develop a career in paediatric dietetics? We are a friendly and dynamic team of Dietitians. This post is a fantastic opportunity to gain further experience, skills and knowledge in paediatrics dietetics. The post holder will be provided with training in any areas they have limited experience.

Our paediatric team of experienced paediatric dietitians work closely alongside excellent multidisciplinary team members including paediatricians, paediatric specialist nurses and other health care professionals. The team provides both inpatient and outpatient services with a varied and interesting caseload including Allergy, Cystic Fibrosis, Nutrition Support, Diabetes and Neonatal nutrition.

Interview Date - 10th December 2024

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will:

  • Deliver a high standard of evidence based care
  • Have the ability to work flexibly and adapt to changing working patterns
  • Have the ability to communicate with children, young people and families as well as professionals in health and children's social care services
  • Has good interpersonal skills enabling effective teamwork
  • Be confident in their assessment and decision making
  • Have an interest in paediatric dietetics and paediatric diabetes.

The post holder will provide care to children on our wards and outpatient clinics. They will also support the specialist Paediatric Diabetes Dietitian in providing care to children and young people with diabetes. The successful applicant will be a good team player who is able to work flexibly with some non-standard hours to meet the needs of our service.

We have an excellent staff supervision and appraisal system which supports the development of individuals and their services. We take student Dietitians on Placements and you will have an active role in their training and the supervision of other colleagues.

Our philosophy is to keep the patient at the heart of everything we do. We look for people who are committed to being part of a healthcare team that delivers an excellent caring service to our patients.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

  • Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
  • Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
  • National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES  

  • To be professional and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients/clients in your care.
  • To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the patients/clients under your care, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
  • To undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients/clients including those with diverse or complex presentations/multi pathologies; use specialist clinical reasoning skills and appropriate assessment techniques to provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition.
  • Formulate and deliver an individual treatment programme using assessment, reasoning skills and treatment skills based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options. Formulate an initial diagnosis and prognoses in order to recommend best course of intervention and develop comprehensive discharge plans.
  • To take delegated responsibility from the Band 7 clinician for managing patients/clients with conditions and be responsible for providing specialist assessment and treatment plans for patients with these conditions.
  • Evaluate patient progress, reassess, and alter treatment programmes as required.
  • To have the ability to undertake self-directed/lone working in a variety of locations.

CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

  • To maintain Professional Registration
  • To work within Trust clinical guidelines, HCPC and Registrant Body guidelines and to have a working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor own and others quality of practise against these.
  • To be responsible for a designated area of work, as delegated by a senior clinician. Plan and organise efficiently and effectively patient/client caseload, and use of time for self and more junior staff.
  • To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out clinical duties, and to adhere to policy, including competence to use equipment and to ensure the safe use of equipment by others through teaching, training and supervision of practice.
  • To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers, and other professionals to promote understanding of the aims of treatment and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care.
  • To provide specialist clinical advice to colleagues working within other clinical areas
  • To provide specialist clinical advice, teaching, and training to other members of the MDT regarding the management of patients
  • To train, supervise and performance manage more junior staff and students. This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation.
  • To communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise potential and to ensure understanding of their condition.
  • To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients/clients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
  • To communicate highly sensitive information effectively with all patient groups/clients/carers where there may be difficulties in accepting or understanding information.
  • To maintain tact and diplomacy and use highly developed communication skills when working in situations which may become hostile/antagonistic including potential complaints as per Trust Policy

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

  • To maintain accurate, comprehensive and up to date documentation, in line with legal and local requirements, and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters.
  • To undertake as directed the collection of appropriate data and statistics for the use of the department.
  • To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service. This will include participating in a variety of MDT, internal and external agency meetings and forums plus other forms of verbal/written communication as necessary including report writing and referrals to other agencies.

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES

  • To maintain own clinical professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments and incorporate them as appropriate into your work. To support junior staff to do likewise.
  • To be an active member of relevant training programmes attending and delivering presentations and training sessions at staff meetings, tutorials, and by attending external courses and being a reflective practitioner
  • To participate in the supervision scheme as supervisor and supervisee

LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

  • To demonstrate leadership by means of:

-       Delivering change within sphere of practice, when and where indicated, to improve service delivery.

-       Influencing, motivating, supporting, and enabling others to contribute towards the effectiveness and success of the Therapy Team

  • To provide specialist advice and guidance in working with colleagues locally to ensure best practice across all disciplines in the assessment, treatment, and long-term management of patients/ clients within sphere of practice.
  • To deputise for the band 7 in terms of operational issues
  • To take responsibility for their own specialist and complex decision making and the decisions of their team which effect service delivery
  • To undertake any other duties that might be considered appropriate by senior staff.
  • To participate in working parties developing policy changes within speciality which will impact on all service users.

CLINICAL GOVERNANCE, RESEARCH & AUDIT

  • To adhere to the appropriate Registrant Body code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and facilitate compliance of staff with local and national standards of practice.
  • Implement policy and service development changes as directed.
  • To demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply to work situation.
  • To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices using evidence-based practice projects, audit, and outcome measures under the guidance of senior staff. Make recommendations for change and to implement change.
  • To comply with the organisational and departmental policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing and updating as appropriate.
  • To support research activity within the Service
  • To engage actively in practice development, evaluation, audit, and research activities relevant to service to promote evidence-based practice.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics
  • HCPC registration
Desirable criteria
  • Student assessment skills course
  • Experience in paediatric dietetics/diabetes
  • Additional training in diabetes
  • Additional training in paediatric dietetic (e.g. BDA Paediatric Module/s)

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria
  • Ability to demonstrate a good level of knowledge and skills in Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Awareness of own strengths and limitations
  • Evidence of effective working within an MDT
  • Demonstrate experience of problem-solving approaches
  • Demonstrates continuous Professional Development
Desirable criteria
  • Audit and research in a clinical area

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines
  • Ability to communicate effectively in a variety of settings within children’s health and social care services.
  • Accurate record keeping, report writing and IT skills
  • Have a flexible approach to working with good time management
  • Teaching and presentation skills to a variety of audiences
  • Demonstrates good team working skills and respectfulness for colleagues
  • Leadership skills
Desirable criteria
  • Mentorship skills

Other

Essential criteria
  • Ability to travel to various hospital locations by own car/ assisted driver
  • Interest and awareness of developments in paediatrics.
  • Demonstrates a commitment to respecting and displaying the Trust values at all times
Desirable criteria
  • Member of the BDA
  • Member of Specialist Interest Group

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Nursing TimesApprenticeships logoDisability confident leaderArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardNavajo - Merseyside and CheshireCare quality commission - OutstandingDying to Work CharterStep into healthHappy to Talk Flexible WorkingNHS Rainbow Badge - BronzeDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - GoldPeople Promise

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Jennie Brown
Job title
Paediatric Dietitian
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0151 430 1201
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