Specialist Dietitian - Upper GI

Job overview

This post supports the UGI Dietetic team, composed of Bands 7 and 6 UGI Dietitians and Band 4 UGI Dietetic Assistant Practitioners, in providing complex dietetic support to Upper GI patients.

We are looking for a dietitian with excellent communication skills, the ability to work both independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team and experience of working with people with complex nutritional needs.

The role involves delivering telephone clinics, and weekly attendance at two busy surgical clinics alongside the UGI MDT, which includes surgeons and specialist nurses. The post holder will also support the monthly ‘Little and Often’ support group for UGI Cancer patients and their carers.

There are flexible working opportunities and potential to work from home as well as on site.

Main duties of the job

Operational responsibilities include monitoring referrals and activity, prioritising caseload as necessary, evaluating activity, responding to service demands.

The Dietitian will work with the team contributing to service improvement, training, development of protocols, policies, resources, standards, and audit. We provide regular supervision, appraisals, and regular team meetings.

The upper GI Dietetic team is part of a wider Dietetic Department consisting of Dietitian’s and Assistants, including Specialists in Nephrology, Diabetes, Nutrition Support, Gastroenterology and Haematology.

The department has a well-established Practice Supervision programme for new graduates and is also committed to training other Health Care Professionals and Student Dietitians

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

For roles at Liverpool Women’s, visit their careers page.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the detailed Job description attached

Clinical

Provide dietetic service to in-patients and outpatients treated in the specialism.

For each patient, collect all relevant medical, social, biochemical and pharmacological information required to inform practice.

Undertake nutritional assessment using weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference and skin-fold measurements as required.

Undertake dietary assessment, estimating intake of macro and micronutrients as appropriate.

Using all information gathered devise and agree with patient and or carer a nutritional care plan.

Inform all relevant health care professionals of main aims and objectives of nutritional care plan by completing relevant documents or writing in patients case sheets.

Monitor progress on the nutritional care plan according to local standards, amending as necessary to ensure improvement in health is achieved.

Establish and maintain effective communication when giving nutrition and dietetic advice to individuals and in groups; to ensure technical information is given in a way they can understand.

Keep patient records according to national and local standards.

Where appropriate use counselling skills to assess motivation and overcome barriers to change.

Liaise with contract caterers and other relevant staff to ensure provision of suitable meals and snacks for patients.

Attend ward rounds, case conferences and ward meetings to reinforce role of nutrition in patient care and of dietitian in the M.D. team.

Undertake as required supervision of student dietitians.

Liaise with colleagues in primary care, referring patients as necessary, to ensure continuity of care.

Assist wards in maintaining stock of nutritional supplements and enteral feeds.

Plan and prioritise own caseload using clinical judgement in collaboration with senior colleagues.

Provide cover for absent colleagues as required.

Clinical Governance

Always work in accordance with national and local standards, best practice and clinical guidelines when providing the dietetic service.

Participate fully in clinical supervision programme for clinical speciality.

Demonstrate commitment to CPD by participating in performance review, according to trust policy, identifying own training needs and actively assisting in creation of your own personal development plan.

Actively contribute to departmental activities such as update meetings, reviews, development of resources, and updating of standards, policies and procedures.

Actively contribute to multidisciplinary and uni-disciplinary specialist team meetings.

Follow trust guidelines when creating written resources to ensure patients’ needs are best met.

Participate in audits of existing service including specialist area and act on findings to help improve service delivery.

Keep measures of workload as directed by Trust Chief Dietitian, to assist future planning.

Work in accordance with trust and departmental policies – this includes Health & Safety, Caldicott, Personnel and Equality & Diversity.

Undertake mandatory, CPR and any other training requested by the trust.

Work within legislation and trust procedures on risk management.

Identify, assess and determine how best to manage risk in work activities.

Always inform departmental head of any identified risks relating to safety of dietitians, patients or any other hospital visitors.

All actions must be taken in accordance with H.P.C. “Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics” and “Standards of Proficiency”.

Follow trust policies when working with patients whose first language is not English.

In conjunction with Dietitian take part in development and implementation of multidisciplinary care pathways for own specialist area.

Training & Development

Attend relevant validated training courses appropriate to speciality.

Keep a personal professional portfolio, which will include evidence of reflection, to confirm continuing competence to practice and provide proof of development of own skills and knowledge in renal dietetics.

Actively participate in student training programme by guiding, supporting and providing feedback to students allocated to you.

In conjunction with senior colleagues use the most appropriate modes of presentation to educate other health professionals on dietetic practice, including updating on evidence-based practice.

Plan, deliver and evaluate education sessions for patients in groups.

Assist senior dietitian in identifying training needs of other health professionals, developing, implementing and evaluating programmes to meet those needs.

Person specification

Qualifications

• BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics or post-graduate Diploma.
• Current registration with HPC.
• Membership of BDA or equivalent professional indemnity.

• Introductory level Clinical Supervisory Skills Training.

Experience

• Broad clinical experience in at least 3 clinical areas, including medical and surgical patients.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary working
• Experience and evidence of continuing professional development

• Experience of training student dietitians.
• Experience of conducting audit

Knowledge

• While able to work independently, ability to recognise own limitations and access advice and information appropriately

Skills

• Communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively convey information
• Problem solving skills.
• Time management – able to prioritise work, respond appropriately to demands and keep to time in out patient setting.
• Good presentation skills.

• I.T. Skills – power-point, keyboard and e-mail.

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months’ of their 18^th birthday.

Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Bank posts require upfront payment. DBS applications submitted from 2nd December will be subject to the new DBS fee of £26.50 (standard) and £54.50 (Enhanced).

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.