Senior Dietitian - Neuro / Frailty

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Orpington; On-site; GBP 44,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare institution in the UK seeks a Senior Dietitian to provide specialized nutrition services across multiple sites. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in NHS dietetics, particularly in neurology and frailty. Responsibilities include developing treatment plans, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and evaluating patient care. Join a dedicated team making a difference in diverse patient settings with a competitive salary range of £44,485 to £52,521 including allowances.

Qualifications

• Experience of dietetics within the NHS.
• Experience working within frailty in the acute setting.
• Experience of patients with neurological conditions.

Responsibilities

• Formulate dietetic treatment plans based on evidence-based practice.
• Ensure continuity of care and dietetic support across specialties.
• Evaluate patient progress and alter treatment regimens as required.

Skills

Communication skills

Ability to prioritize workload

Teamwork

Autonomous working

Education

Degree in Dietetics

Job description

Overview

Senior Dietitian - Neuro / Frailty at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The closing date is 15 February 2026. We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Dietitian to join our team of 16 dietitians at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This unique post provides across-site dietetic service to the Neurology & Frailty services across the PRUH and Orpington Hospital. The post holder will work alongside the Acute Frailty and Neurorehabilitation Band 7 dietitian who covers the Acute Frailty Assessment Unit (AFAU) at the PRUH and the two Neurorehabilitation wards at Orpington. Both posts will work closely to provide cover during leave to ensure continuity of care and ongoing dietetic support across specialties and hospital sites. This is a 1.0 WTE position, with 0.5 WTE based at Orpington and 0.5 WTE based at the PRUH. Time spent across specialties may vary according to caseload and service demands. There is a regular internal shuttle bus between sites to allow ease of cross-site working.

Main duties

The neurology service at PRUH covers all neurology outliers across multiple wards throughout the hospital. This includes patients with motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, progressive supranuclear palsy, Guillain-Barré syndrome and traumatic brain injury. Many of these patients require close multidisciplinary team working, with complex oral and enteral feeding discussions and support.

The frailty service at Orpington Hospital covers three frailty wards, delivering specialist nutritional assessment and intervention for patients with malnutrition, swallowing difficulties, multiple comorbidities, cognitive impairment and delirium, ensuring care is person-centred, aligned with individual goals and decisions made in patient’s best interest.

About us

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Job responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Development, application and dissemination of expertise: To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of work in compliance with the ethical code of practice set out by the Health and Care Professions Council. To work with the dietetic and multidisciplinary teams to formulate and deliver individual dietetic treatment plans for patients based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, critical thinking, reasoning skills and knowledge of a wide range of dietetic treatments. Contribute to the local development and delivery of structured education programmes. Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment. Evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment regimens as required. To manage clinical risk within own patient caseload. Work within Trust clinical guidelines and to have good working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor quality of practice as appropriate. To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with British Dietetic Association (BDA) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards of practice.

Team working, decision making and communication

Represent the dietetic service and/or individual patients at multidisciplinary team meetings, to ensure the delivery of a coordinated multidisciplinary service, and integrate dietetic therapy into the treatment programme. This will include discussion of patient care, patient progress and involvement in discharge planning. To provide nutrition counselling to patients and carers relating to highly complex treatments using a broad range of counselling techniques and experience, reassurance and motivational skills to encourage change particularly where there is non-compliance. To be responsible for ensuring that patients and carers have consented to dietetic intervention in line with national professional guidelines. To make clinical decisions in collaboration with the Nutrition Support Team about the appropriate and safe administration of parenteral nutrition or alternative forms of artificial nutrition support. This will involve nutritional assessment and monitoring; including the calculation of nutritional requirements based on the interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometry, clinical condition and other physical parameters. To directly prescribe nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals as agreed with consultant medical staff. To communicate and liaise with the wider healthcare community, locally, regionally and nationally, regarding nutrition prescription and nutritional care of patients. Providing appropriate information, education and professional support to clinicians, patients and carers. This will include delivering service and expertise off-site. To be responsible for the discharge planning of patients going home on artificial nutritional support. Liaise with the Catering department to promote optimal nutrition for patients. To demonstrate flexibility in providing cover in times of staff shortage within clinical areas appropriate to the grade with senior support. To undertake any other duties appropriate to the grade as requested by the Head of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Audit and research

Undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit and outcome measures either individually or with more senior dietitians or other healthcare providers. To initiate and participate in regular research and audit within the specialised area. This includes coordination and supervision of research projects for undergraduate dietetic students. Relevant findings will be published or presented at appropriate conferences. To undertake as directed the collection of data for use in service audit and research projects. To manage and undertake research into specific areas of clinical practice and service delivery using a range of research methodologies as part of MDT audit and departmental research initiatives. To research, develop, audit and publish evidence-based departmental patient information literature for use within and outside the trust. Development will involve involvement of appropriate patient groups.

Development activities

Be actively involved in professional clinical groups such as department’s development groups and other appropriate professional development activities. To participate in the development, implementation and update of operational and professional standards and policies for the specialist dietetic service. To be an active team member of the dietetic department at Kings, participating in department-wide developments and attending monthly staff and continuing professional development meetings. To advise and liaise with the catering staff about the dietary needs of patients and to assist in instructing diet kitchen chefs on preparation of special meals as required. To adapt and analyse the menu cycle to ensure suitability for the inpatient population and make recommendations to the site Catering Dietitian and Manager. Participate in the staff Performance Review scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for complying with your agreed personal development programmes to meet required knowledge and competency goals.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the main responsibilities of this post.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of dietetics within the NHS
• Experience working within frailty in the acute setting
• Experience of patients with neurological conditions
• Sound experience of nutrition support within the acute setting including home enteral feeding discharges
• Experience of multidisciplinary team working
• Experience working within a Neurorehabilitation setting

Skills and Competencies

• Good oral and written communication skills with people from a wide variety of backgrounds
• Ability to prioritise own workload
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a team
• Able to respond to unpredictable work patterns and frequent interruptions
• Able to maintain effective working relationships with relevant stakeholders

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.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

£44,485 to £52,521 a year, including high cost allowance