NHS - Highly Specialist Head & Neck/Cancer Dietitian
Job overview
We are seeking a highly experienced dietitian to work closely with the Cancer Head and Neck specialist team and the Oncology/Haematology cancer specialist dietitian team to develop, lead and provide a specialist service for outpatients and inpatients supporting the work of the cancer teams to support the cancer patient journey.
This is a fantastic opportunity for career development, to further develop and strengthen skills in clinical practice, Cancer care, leadership, education and training and research.
Main duties of the job- Co-ordinate and support the H&N service, within designated clinics, day case and inpatient care.
Work as an autonomous dietetic practitioner, taking the lead in the comprehensive assessment of the route of nutritional support, nutritional requirements, provision of optimal, safe, nutritional therapy and assessment of efficacy of nutritional support, and specific nutrition therapy for complex patients under the care of the cancer teams.
Design and implement a completely dietetic led coeliac disease service including direct to dietitian triage from primary care. To include assessing newly diagnosed patients, providing comprehensive patient education and support to patients and their carers or relatives, responsibility for monitoring biochemistry, liaising with the H&N Consultant, Oncologist, Haematologist for specific patients and guiding GPs as needed.
Design and implement direct to dietitian IBS service from primary care (including setting up service with clear pathway, evaluation, improvement and education of primary care) with support of consultant gastroenterologists.
Provide cohesive dietetic care for H&N and Cancer patients, providing cover for the Oncology Dietitian as required.- ·
Working for our organisation
Why Work With Us
About your new team and department
This post is based at Torbay Hospital within the Cancer service H&N multi professional . This post will lead and cover the H&N speciality for nutrition care. working with the Cancer service dietitian lead and the team and will liaise with the Acute team as part of the wider dietetic team including Community, Diabetes, Paediatrics, Weight Management, as patient care requires .This post is part of the Cancer Support Team (CST) The team is actively involved with training of student dietitians from Plymouth University.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Communication and working relationships- To work as the lead dietetic member of the Cancer H&N team
- To communicate and establish working relationships with:
o H&N, Oncology & Haematology consultants, CNS teams, AHP's, ward managers and matrons and the wider teams
o Allied health professionals
o Cancer MDT, rehabilitation teams, ward medical and nursing teams
o Nutrition team and nutrition nurse specialists
o Home Enteral Feeding (HEF) Dietitians and HEF Team
o Catering department
o Local dietetic team, including acute teams of dietitians, community dietitians, diabetes dietitians, Primary Care Network (PCN) dietitians
o Students – dietetic and other professions
o Other health and social care professionals
Planning and organisation- To manage own clinical caseload as an autonomous practitioner within the H&N service
- To manage own time, prioritise clinical referrals and manage the demands received from different parts of the service
- Actively evaluate the dietetic H&N service, identifying any areas for development, together with support from senior members of Cancer H&N team.
- To plan, organise, deliver, and evaluate training sessions to a variety of groups including health and social care professionals and patients. Training may be face to face or via virtual platforms.
- To be the nutritional lead/support for development of dietetic services in the cancer H&N team.
- To deliver dietetic care to a caseload of complex adult patients in collaboration with the CNS and the H&N MDT and other MDTs as required
- To provide a source of expert knowledge and advice on nutrition to the H&N and cancer services.
- To lead provision of evidence-based, individualised, disease specific and often complex dietary/nutritional treatment plans for H&N, Cancer patients with, appropriate review and evaluation of these plans
- To be responsible for reviewing, monitoring and making appropriate clinical changes to each patient’s dietetic care plan based on medical, emotional, ethical and social developments in addition to multidisciplinary decisions on the patient’s care
- To use behaviour change and advanced communication techniques to support and aid compliance with recommended dietary/nutritional treatment plans
- To explain treatment plans (verbal and or written) in an easily understandable way to patients, carers and relatives and other relevant individuals, to enable patients to make informed choices about their own health
- To provide resources such as patient information leaflets, recipes and menu plans and to signpost them to other resources where appropriate (e.g. NHS patient webinars, relevant charities and support groups).
- To provide dietetic care, both practical and empathetic, for people requiring long-term nutrition support or long-term dietary changes (including those who may be in the end stages of their life) with gastroenterology diagnoses
- To be pro-active in initiating appropriate dietetic treatment and/or referral, and to signpost to other appropriate services
- To advise on commencing enteral nutrition (either orally or by way of a variety of tube feeding routes dependent on gut anatomy and function) and transitioning between routes
- To request, review and interpret blood biochemistry results to monitor the safety and efficacy of nutritional support, and make clinical changes where necessary
- To understand and be fully aware of the range of oral nutrition support products, enteral tube feeds and associated equipment
- To be responsible for recommending nutritional supplements
- To recommend nutritional supplements for prescription (e.g. from GP, or hospital doctors where appropriate)
- To ensure safe and timely discharge of tube fed patients from hospital to home, with the support of the nutrition team, ward staff and home enteral feeding team including monitoring of high-risk patients (e.g. those being fed post-pylorically or with complex gastrointestinal needs) on home enteral feeding in the community
- To advise “off script” enteral tube feeds for home use
- To maintain accurate and timely documentation of patient interactions and clinical care provided in line with record keeping standards
- To lead the development of policies, resources and guidelines relevant to this role, with the support from gastroenterology
- To contribute to the wider service development of the dietetic service
- To follow Trust policies and procedures
- To undertake clinical practice in line with local policy and guidelines, such as refeeding, enteral feeding and nutrition screening
- To relate clinical practice to broader clinical guidelines, including NICE
- To promote the role and value of the Dietitian in all aspects of nutritional care
- To promote the clinical and cost-effective use of oral nutritional supplements, for example, when inpatients are discharged from hospital into the community
- To provide nutrition expertise within the Cancer teams
- To use Trust IT systems
- To accurately record own Dietetic activity using computerised statistics and to collate this data for service evaluation and development purposes
- To use Attend Anywhere or equivalent for patient assessments, when clinically appropriate
- To prepare own presentations, reports, and documents
- Maintain clinical records including Dietetic records and GP letters and in line with professional and department standards. Use electronic patient records where available
- To work within the requirements of Data protection legislation and access to health records
- To communicate via email, social media and other internal IT systems
- To be responsible for own and gastroenterology dietetic services continued professional development and be proactive within annual Achievement Reviews and monthly 121s
- To maintain and improve professional knowledge through CPD (continued professional development), for example, journal review, shadowing, attendance at courses/conferences/webinars as agreed with the Team and the wider dietetic department
- To liaise with other specialist dietitians
- To work within the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and the BDA (British Dietetic Association) Code of Professional Conduct
- To proactively identify and lead project work to develop the service to provide high quality nutritional care to patients
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- • Degree or equivalent qualification in Nutrition and Dietetics
- • Evidence of further masters level post-graduate study in functional gut disorders
- • Specialist training and experience in behaviour change therapies
- • Clinical Supervisory skills course for student training
- • Leadership or management related studies
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria- • Previous experience at a senior level which must include broad clinical experience and specialist experience in gastroenterology and nutrition support using advanced clinical reasoning skills
- • Evidence of specialist training and experience in dietary management of people gastroenterological diagnoses
- • To assess complex medical conditions, necessitating the analysis and comparison of a range of nutritional treatments options.
- • Proven continuous professional development from attendance of specialist courses/webinars/conferences/meetings and impact on practice
- • Experience of commencing, continuation and discontinuation of parenteral or enteral nutrition support
- • Experience of being a member of a Nutrition Support Team or other MDT and managing a caseload of both inpatients and outpatients receiving nutrition support.
- • Experience of developing, implementing, evaluating and updating dietetic services
Skills
Essential criteria- • Highly developed interpersonal skills enabling communication (both written and verbal) and negotiation at all levels within the MDT and with colleagues in other organisations
- • Ability to lead, motivate and influence senior clinicians to achieve patient centred outcomes which meet national standards
- • To have good time management skills with ability to prioritise based on clinical need, including responding rapidly to urgent situations, phone calls and the “bleep”
- • Experience of managing a complex nutrition support caseload, for both inpatients and outpatients
- • Membership and attendance at specialist education provided by relevant national and international groups such as BAPEN, PENG, ESPEN etc.
You will be joining the organisation at an exciting time. As the first fully integrated care organisation in England, we are working to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care. We have a positive and vibrant working atmosphere, we are proud of our investment in our staff both in terms of developing potential career skills and valuing people.
If you provide support to a family member or friend with health or care needs, we aim to be a Carer-friendly employer. We have a ‘Staff Carers’ policy which includes flexible working where possible and a Carer’s Passport scheme that links you into support and discounts.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION- We reserve the right to close vacancies early if we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we encourage you to apply promptly.
- Please read the job description carefully and tailor your application to reflect the requirements of the role.
- Applicants who identify in their application form they are a part of the Armed Forces community will be guaranteed an interview, provided they meet the minimum essential criteria outlined in the job description and person specification for the role. Step into Health guidance can be found on our NHS Employers website.
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