Community Dietitian

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

Job summary

A community health service provider in Lowestoft is seeking a motivated Dietitian to join their team. You will manage a diverse clinical caseload, provide specialist dietary advice, and support junior staff. This role involves significant community interaction and opportunities for professional development. Applicants should hold a registration with the Health Care Professions Council and have relevant experience in dietary management. Flexible working options available.

Benefits

Employee benefits

Flexible working options

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience of dietary management within the community/acute setting.
• Experience of pre-registration dietetic student training.
• Specialist post registration clinical experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist dietary advice including home enteral feeds.
• Maintain up to date dietetic records in line with professional standards.
• Provide education and training to other health professionals.

Skills

Clinical skills

Excellent interpersonal skills

Self-directed learning

Education

Registration with the Health Care Professions Council

Relevant postgraduate courses/CPD

Job description

Are you a self-motivated and resourceful Dietitian looking to further your experience and knowledge in community dietetics with a specialist caseload of home enteral feeds patients? This may be your exciting opportunity join our small and friendly team working within East Coast Community Healthcare CIC (ECCH).

You will have a varied clinical caseload working between clinics, community hospital, care homes and domiciliary visits within this predominately rural geographic area. This is a chance to make a real difference to the nutrition and wellbeing of the patients and carers, many of whom have life limiting conditions. This post is supported by the Home Enteral Feeds/team lead Dietitian and training into this specialist area will be given via clinical supervision and mentoring.

There will be opportunities to share your knowledge and skill via teaching sessions to other professionals mainly promoting the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. You will also provide clinical support /supervision to junior dietetic colleagues, pre-registration students and become involved with service development.

In addition to Kirkley Mill Surgery and Northgate Hospital the role also involves home working and the option to work from other hot desk areas.

Main duties of the job

• To work as an autonomous practitioner in providing specialist dietary advice including home enteral feeds within the agreed geographical area. Completing assessments, goal setting and monitoring their own designated caseload of patients. In domiciliary, clinic and community settings.
• To provide and contribute to the development of the adult community dietetic service.
• To maintain up to date dietetic records in line with professional standards.
• To use evidence based practice and specialist skill to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• To provide education and training to other health professionals, community staff and patient groups.
• To undertake a mutually agreed set of objectives through the personal development plan, participate in CPD and other developmental activities.
• To work with other members of the multidisciplinary team and deliver teaching and supervision to qualified staff, Dietetic Assistants and students.

We recognise that AI tools are increasingly used inprofessional settings. While we encourage strong applications, we valueauthenticity and an accurate reflection of skills and experience.

Applicants must declare if AI has been used to complete theirapplication, including responses that are directly copied or significantlyshaped by AI tools.

By submitting this application, you confirm that allinformation provided is a true and accurate representation of your own skills,knowledge, and experience.

About us

ECCH is well established health care provider and has been successfully delivering NHS care within the community since 2011. We provide a range of NHS, community health and social care services predominantly across the easterly region of the Norfolk/Suffolk borders.

We are aligned to NHS terms and conditions, and offer many employee benefits, to find out more about us visit our website - www.ecch.org. We are a social enterprise and staff owned organisation which means staff can opt to be shareholders and have a real say in how ECCH is run and evolves to deliver healthcare for the future.

At the heart of our ambition, we work in partnership with and for the community to become the provider and employer of choice for community healthcare.

We encourage you to apply as early as possible as this job may close earlier than the advertised closing date once enough applications have been received.

The Community Dietetic team has been a valued member of East Coast Community Healthcare for the last 6 years, winning clinical team of the year at ECCH annual staff awards 2024.

We are a small team but work closely with the wider MDT and neighbouring Dietetic services. We are flexible, approachable and open to new ideas. ECCH has been encouraging remote working and the dietetic team is well resourced and supported to work independently out of the office. We are cost conscious, flexible and are paper light.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

To be professionally and legallyresponsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including themanagement of patient in your care. To ensure high standards of clinical carefor the patients under your management and support other to do likewise.

Toteach patients and their carers on methods of feed delivery, tube care and thecare of stoma sites.

Toplan and provide appropriate training for other healthcare professionalsinvolved with artificial nutrition.

Toact as a point of contact and source of expertise for internal and externalenquiries to the service concerning your area of expertise.

Toprovide dietetic care to patients in a range of venues including: communityclinics; learning disability homes; nursing/residential homes; communityhospital ward and domiciliary visits.

Topromote the use of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, adapting this ifapplicable for nursing and residential homes.

Tocommunicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise their potential andto ensure understanding of the condition and the care plan. Communicationskills of persuasion, motivation and explanation will be used with a variety ofpatients. Some of which may havedifficulties understanding or communicating.

Communicateeffectively with all members of the integrated community teams, GPs,Consultants and other professions to ensure a collaborative approach to themanagement of patients conditions.

Toassess capacity, gain valid consent and have the ability to work with the legalframework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

Participatein the clinical cover for community colleagues on annual, sick or study leavewhen required.

Professional

To maintain own clinical professionaldevelopment by keeping abreast of evidence-based practice and developments and incorporatethem as necessary into your work. To be an active member of the in-servicetraining programme.

To adhere to the standards ofconduct, performance and ethics and the Dietitians standard of proficiency ofthe Health Care Professions Council.

Maintain accurate and up to datedocumentation in line with legal and departmental requirements and communicateassessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form ofreports and letters.

To communicate effectively and workcollaborative with the MDT colleagues across the health economy to ensuredelivery of a co-ordinated integrated service.

Identify objectives for personaldevelopment and participate in the staff appraisals scheme and personaldevelopment programme.

Organisational:

Responsiblefor a designated area of work, as agreed with the team lead.

Planand organise this effectively and efficiently with regards to patientmanagement and use of time.

Decidepriorities for own work area balancing other patient related and professionaldemands and ensure that these remain in accordance with those of the section asa whole.

Tobe actively involved in the collection of appropriate data and statistics forthe use of the department.

Tocomply with the organisational and departmental polices and procedures and beinvolved in the reviewing and updating as appropriate.

Tolead by action and inspire others activity as a role model, demonstrating theleadership behaviours and values identified by the organisation aims andobjectives. Promoting the organisation, the role of the dietitian and theimportance of nutritional care.

Any other dutieswhich might be considered appropriate by the clinical and professional lead.

All roleswithin East Coast Community Healthcare CIC (ECCH) require staff to demonstrate ourValues and Signature Behaviours in the care and service they provide topatients, service users, stakeholders and colleagues. All members of staffshould consider these as an essential part of their job role.

Our Values outline the core behaviours that wecan all achieve and are summarised as an acronym within the word CARE. These stand for: Compassion, Action, Respect and Everyone.

Underpinning our Values are our SignatureBehaviours which highlight by taking the right actions we continue to build astrong culture. Our four SignatureBehaviours are: Compassion- We Listen, We Learn,We Lead| Action - MyAccountability, My Responsibility | Respect - RespectOur Resources: People, Time and Money | Everyone - Work Together, Achieve Together.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of dietary management within the community/acute setting
• Experience of pre-registration dietetic student training
• Experience at band 5/6 level
• Experience of service development/change management
• Specialist post registration clinical experience.

Personal Attributes

• Able to work collaboratively within a team
• Able to work independently
• Committed to personal and team development
• Able to work with others and pass on skills and knowledge
• Able to maintain judgement under pressure
• Able to maintain motivation, drive and enthusiasm.
• Willingness and ability to work across different clinical settings
• Ability to embrace our Culture, Values and Signature Behaviours:
• (Compassion - We Listen, We Learn, We Lead| Action - My Accountability, My Responsibility | Respect - Respect Our Resources: People, Time and Money | Everyone - Work Together, Achieve Together).
• Willingness and ability to work across different sites and travel to alternative sites and across the community as required.

Skills and Knowledge

• Ability to demonstrate clinical skills and knowledge within specialist area
• Forward thinking
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Self-directed learning
• Ability to work autonomously
• Presentations skills
• Critical appraisal
• Audit
• Research

Qualifications

• Registration with the health care professions council.
• Evidence of relevant postgraduate courses/CPD
• Membership of specialist Interest Groups relevant to area of speciality

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.