Clinical Dietetic Support Worker

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to join our team at Whipps Cross University Hospital as a Band 4 Clinical Dietetic Support Worker.

This position is vital to the Dietetic Services at Whipps Cross and applicants should have a strong desire to work within nutrition in a caring role. The post holder will support the dietetic team in a clinical capacity, working face to face with patients on the wards. Good computer and excellent communication skills are of the utmost importance in this busy post.

The Nutrition and Dietetic teams at Whipps Cross are well established and efficient. The successful applicant for this position will be made welcome and work flexibly as part of our team. The right candidate should find this role an exciting challenge.

We are committed to work based education and training to improve clinical skills and there is a robust system in place for staff supervision and CPD.

Main duties of the job

To work with dietitians, other dietetic support workers, nutrition nurses, members of the multidisciplinary team including medical, nursing and other therapy teams, catering department, community dietitians and nutritional companies to help optimise care for the patients.

Working for our organisation

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent in Maths / English / Science
• Evidence of training appropriate to the post such as short course for Dietetic Support workers

Desirable criteria

• Food Hygiene Certificate
• NVQ level 3 or equivalent

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working with patients in an acute healthcare setting
• Significant experience of working with the general public
• Experience of working as part of a team
• Experience of organising and giving presentations to groups of 10 or more people
• Experience of working without direct supervision with the ability to make decisions
• Experience of participation in audit
• Experience of participation in projects
• Experience of working with people from a diverse multicultural community

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• An understanding of cultural diversity and equal opportunities
• Good knowledge of the Science of Nutrition
• Good nutritional knowledge and clear understanding of its effect on health and specific medical conditions
• Good understanding of the audit cycle
• Good understanding of the role of planning and delivering training in the healthcare setting

Skills

Essential criteria

• Good written and verbal communication skills - able to deal with complex sensitive issues on a one-to-one basis, with people who may have communication difficulties, in a group setting or via interpreters
• Good interpersonal skills showing care and sensitivity to the needs of patients, carers, staff and colleagues
• Good time management skills with the ability to prioritise own workload and meet deadlines
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to use own initiative and deal with non-routine issues in relation to patient care
• Demonstrable ability to present information both orally and written in a clear and logical manner
• Demonstrable ability to work under pressure and be flexible and creative
• Proven ability to write simple reports, keep simple accounts and produce simple written resources
• Proven ability to follow project plans and to implement changes within an agreed framework
• Ability to understand and apply risk management
• Understanding of the legal responsibilities of the service and the associated code of conduct as well as clinical governance
• Ability to cope with working with emotional patients/carers
• Good computer skills: ability to use Microsoft word, power point, excel and ability to adapt computerised record keeping
• Ability to problem solve, time manage and work to deadlines
• The ability to lift and handle objects eg nutritional feeds up to 5Kg in weight
• Ability to present to groups

Other

Essential criteria

• Demonstrates interest and enthusiasm for nutrition
• Commitment to CPD
• Demonstrable ability and eagerness to gain new knowledge and skills
• Experience in either educating / advising others e.g. healthy lifestyles or teaching people skills e.g. cooking, etc
• Motivated to develop the service

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment where staff treat one another with dignity and respect. We aim to create an equitable working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential.

As an Equal Opportunities Employer we actively support applications from individuals' who apply under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme and will process your application as appropriate.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful.

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.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to Barts Heath NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Barts Health is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and to child protection. The Trust aims to ensure as far as is possible that anyone, paid or unpaid, who seeks to work in our organisation and who gains access to children, is safe to do so. As such, you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Check as part of the recruitment process if appointed to a post with direct access to children or vulnerable adults.

Barts Health promotes active travel as part of its goal to reach Net Zero. Each site is accessible by public transport and the Trust has a cycle to work scheme and some sites have Brompton Hire Pods.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

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

• Job Description (PDF, 232.9KB)
• Our Values and Behaviours (PDF, 334.9KB)
• Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders (PDF, 92.0KB)
• Candidate Information Pack (PDF, 549.5KB)