Nutritionist

NHS Jobs; Stafford; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Jobs is seeking a Mental Health Nutritionist to deliver evidence-based nutrition advice to adults with serious mental illness in Staffordshire. You will assess nutritional needs, develop care plans, and provide one-to-one and group sessions in line with NICE guidance to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent disease.

You will work within a multidisciplinary team, monitor outcomes using validated tools, maintain accurate records, and contribute to service improvement while upholding

Qualifications

• Ability to produce detailed and accurate nutrition care plans.
• Translate complex nutritional information for patients in an understandable way.
• Proven ability to engage and motivate individuals in group and 1:1 settings.

Responsibilities

• Assess nutritional needs and develop care plans for service users.
• Deliver nutrition advice in one-to-one and group settings.
• Maintain accurate records and comply with information governance policies.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team and contribute to service evaluation.

Skills

Nutritional assessment

Behaviour change

Care planning

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Communication skills

Record keeping

Data protection & governance

CPD / professional development

Empathy

Safeguarding

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION

Mental Health Nutritionist

MAIN PURPOSE

As a nutritionist in our service, you will teach and inform our service users who have Serious Mental Illnesses about diet and nutrition, aiming to promote good health and prevent disease in those individuals across Staffordshire. Specifically, you will, in line with NICE guidance, be responsible and accountable for the delivery of high quality, evidence-based nutrition advice for adults seeking a healthier lifestyle in one to one and group settings.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Nutritionist will: Provide comprehensive assessment of nutritional needs and patient lifestyle to develop care plans to address nutritional issues. Evaluate nutritional needs and on-going support to patients in line with NICE guidance in a group and 1-2-1 settings, face to face and/or digitally, and implementing skills and knowledge of behaviour change theories. Support the nutritional development, delivery, evaluation, and quality assurance of the integrated service and provide key nutritional expertise to the multidisciplinary team and other colleagues within the service, ensuring excellent service delivery. Facilitate and empower patients to change behaviour and adopt positive lifestyle changes by providing health education and high-quality nutritional counselling regarding healthy eating, helping patients to address barriers to change. To attend multi professional meetings to provide nutrition input regarding management for patients/clients including discharge planning and on-going management whilst respecting professional roles to ensure a supportive and proactive multi-disciplinary team. Accountable for ensuring programme delivery is monitored using validated tools to collect and analyse patient performance outcome measures and evaluation, to ensure that the contractual KPIs are achieved, and an excellent service is demonstrated; critical and rigorous implementation of all validated anthropometric measures at key milestones across the services, in line with the Standard Evaluation Framework, ensuring excellent recording, monitoring, and reporting on patient outcomes. Keep accurate records and written reports, ensuring patient personal information is recorded in accordance with Everyone Healths and Local Authority policies; Caldicott Guardian, Information Governance, Data Protection and Data Sharing compliance. Assist the development of continual service improvement and client/patient-centred services in accordance with participant feedback, NICE guidance, national and local recommendations, professional competences and SLM policies and procedures, ensuring the service is delivered in line with CQC and HSCICs regulations. Be compliant with all relevant policies, procedures, and guidelines; including the appropriate code(s) of conduct associated with this post; maintain awareness of safeguarding issues, report and acting on concerns in accordance with Everyone Health and Local Authority policies and procedures. Ensure the safety of all patients by undertaking: risk assessments, health and safety checks, equipment checks etc., as directed by the Service Manager and Clinical Lead. Respond to any relevant clinical / colleague issues / incidences to manage a mitigate risk and maintain best practice. Take responsibility for own CPD and synthesise new knowledge into the development of your own practice, participate in training and continual professional development as required; recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by professional body. Ensure that commitment to equality and diversity is reflected at all stages of project planning, delivery, and evaluation, in line with agreed service standards. Support in administrative duties related to your patients, for example letters to referrers, follow up phone calls, motivational text messages as required. Be an ambassador for Everyone Health, promoting the Healthy Communities Lifestyle Service to members of the public and other stakeholders/ partners, where appropriate. The post holder is expected to work within the requirements of the 6 Cs Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

1. SKILLS & ABILITIES Ability to direct and co-ordinate programmes of care working autonomously and collaboratively. Ability to produce detailed, accurate, patient nutrition care plans. Ability to translate complex nutritional information into a format that is appropriate and understandable for patients to support compliance with healthy eating intervention and advice. A commitment to continuous service improvement with expert insight into patients needs, so that all patients receive high quality care. Passionate about putting patients first and delivering a high-quality service, emotionally sensitive and empathetic to members of the public who wish to improve their health. Proven ability to relate, motivate and confidently engage individuals in activities and discussion as part of a group and in a 1:1 situation. Ability to work independently and manage own workload; able to work effectively and supportively as a multi-disciplinary team member. Sound interpersonal skills with proven ability to work effectively with all levels of colleagues, including effective partnerships with other agencies and service providers. Evidence of experience in embracing and implementing change to provide high quality health outcomes. Excellent written, verbal, non-verbal communication, and presentation skills. Computer literate ability to maintain and monitor information systems in line with the national minimum dataset and adapt to reflect local needs. Able to take specific deliverables and use appropriate policies, principles, and guidelines to ensure successful delivery. Friendly, supportive, and encouraging to people in difficult (sometimes frustrating) situations. Organised, flexible and adaptable approach to working. Confident and competent at monitoring, managing, and reporting own screening equipment needs. Value and respectful of other people regardless of background or circumstances. Able to respect confidentiality. Good empathy skills.