Adult Home Enteral Feed (HEFT) Lead Dietitian, Band 7

NHS; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Gloucester is seeking a Dietitian to lead their Home Enteral Feeding Team. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in enteral feeding, strong leadership skills, and a relevant degree. Responsibilities include managing clinical workload, staff training, and ensuring compliance with health protocols. This role offers the opportunity to impact patient care positively within a dynamic team.

Qualifications

• Registered Dietitian with a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Experience in enteral feeding is essential.
• Effective leadership and supervision of staff are required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the clinical workload of the Adult HEF service.
• Manage documentation for enteral nutrition support.
• Develop clinical guidelines and maintain audit processes.

Skills

Leadership skills

Advanced communication skills

Clinical knowledge around enteral feeding

Information technology literacy

Negotiation and influencing skills

Education

Degree/postgraduate diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics

Registered with the Health Professions Council (HCPC)

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Overview

Job summary

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS foundation Trust Home Enteral Feeding Team (HEFT) have an exciting new role in their well-established, experienced team. We are looking for a Dietitian with experience and expertise in enteral feeding with a special interest in enteral feeding in those with learning disabilities to join our friendly, dynamic team.

Responsibilities

Job responsibilities

Be the clinical lead for the HEFT’s Adult service providing line management to band 5 and 6 registered clinicians within this team. Oversee the clinical workload of the HEF Adult service to ensure safe caseload balance and manage patient complexity allocation. Develop the adult HEF service where increased clinical input is needed. Develop and support staff within the team, including line management of the Dietetic Support Worker. Lead induction and training against local and national frameworks. Collaborate with other Team Leads to deliver strategies and clinical workload. Keep up-to-date with changes to local and national frameworks relevant to HEF. Support training programmes covering Dietetic students and junior/specialist staff. Manage documentation for enteral nutrition support, including competency development, policies, patient/carer literature, and external publications. Contribute to clinical governance, audit, and research within HEFT. Adopt new ways of working to improve outcomes and participate in peer review. Work countywide and participate in staff recruitment, inductions, and appraisals.

Clinical

Use highly specialist knowledge to assess and manage nutrition and dietetic care plans for adult HEF patients with complex needs, including domiciliary assessments and patients requiring long-term rehabilitation or palliation. Manage a specialist caseload and oversee clinical work delegated to the Dietetic Assistant Team. Provide specialist training and prescribe appropriate feeds. Use advanced communication and behaviour change skills to support lifelong dietary changes for patients and carers. Address barriers to communication and support devices. Stay current with clinical practices, embed local changes, mitigate risk, and ensure budgeting. Undertake extended roles such as care/repair of gastrostomy tubes and stoma sites, escalating complex issues as needed. Support MDT collaboration, provide clear instructions to nursing and medical staff, and update the MDT on patient progress. Ensure accurate documentation for patient care and reporting. Provide up-to-date feeding regimens to relevant agencies and care settings.

Evidence Based Practice

Maintain current knowledge of evidence in adult HEF dietetics and lead implementation. Develop clinical guidelines, policies, and nutrition information for HEF services. Lead audits and participate in research within the adult HEF cohort.

Leadership Responsibilities

Lead adult HEF nutritional support training, update multidisciplinary staff, network for service improvements, and support junior dietitians and staff. Provide tutorials, supervision, and development reviews. Lead recruitment and contribute to job descriptions and inductions.

Professional and Managerial

Be the professional lead for the Adult HEF specialism, manage staff performance, ensure care aligns with protocols and service levels, support cross-department process improvement, promote enteral nutritional health, manage clinical risk, report adverse incidents, use information systems for audits, manage resources within budget, and uphold ethical and legal standards. Identify and escalate service gaps and foster links across primary, secondary, and tertiary care. Maintain patient and staff confidentiality and uphold trust policies. Maintain a professional portfolio to demonstrate competency in line with trust frameworks and HCPC guidelines.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Degree/postgraduate diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics
• Registered with the Health Professions Council (HCPC)
• Post-registration training in Nutrition Support and Dietetics (e.g., British Dietetic Association accredited course)
• Advanced Clinical Supervisor skills training
• Evidence of effective leadership skills
• Information technology literacy, MS Office and IT to support clinical practice
• Experience supervising staff
• Extensive clinical knowledge around enteral feeding
• Full driving licence
• Advanced communication skills with diverse communication barriers
• Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating projects and audits
• Ability to develop and deliver training materials
• Knowledge of blended diet, its application and risks
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Self-motivated with attention to detail
• Commitment to personal development

Desirable

• Understanding of nasogastric and gastrostomy tubes and stoma care
• Postgraduate/M-level qualifications
• Excellent presentation skills

Other

Disclosures

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service may be required to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Great Western Road, Gloucester, GL1 3NN