Community Dietitian

Merseycare; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Main area: Band 5 Community Dietitian

Grade: Band 5

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (0830hrs - 16:30hrs Monday - Friday)

Job ref: 350-CC7052750

Site: Mersey Care Community Division

Town: Prescot

Salary: £29,970 - £36,483 per annum pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 31/03/2025 23:59

Interview date: 17/04/2025

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnic minorities, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore, we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.

Job overview

We are looking for a passionate Dietitian to join our friendly, caring and forward-thinking Community Dietetics Team. The role is based at Whiston Primary Care Resource Centre, and you would be part of the Community Care Division providing a dietetic service to the adult population of Knowsley and St Helens. We welcome applications from motivated, enthusiastic, newly qualified or experienced Band 5 Dietitians as well as Dietetic students. Flexible working will be considered. The ability to travel in the community between St Helens and Knowsley is essential.

Main duties of the job

• Provide nutritional care within a variety of settings including outpatient clinics, care homes, and patients' own homes.
• Manage a diverse clinical caseload incorporating nutritional support, frailty, chronic diseases, oncology, neurology, and gastrointestinal disorders.
• Gain further knowledge in the areas of home enteral feeding and paediatrics.
• Receive support from clinical supervisors with regular supervision sessions and join the Trust's AHP Preceptorship programme.
• Participate in the well-established student training programme to develop clinical supervisory skills.
• Engage in professional development with CPD fully encouraged and supported by the Trust.

Working for our organisation

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region. We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health, learning disability, addiction, and brain injury services. At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable, and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Assess, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate programmes to promote and prevent adverse effects on health and well-being.
• Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients.
• Identify and manage treatment plans for patients at risk as appropriate.
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent, or emergency situations.
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication.
• Recognise, assess, and refer patients presenting with mental health needs.
• Promote and deliver evidence-based care.
• Assist senior practitioners as required.
• Utilise sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication.
• Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues.
• Maintain competence and professional conduct as regulated by the relevant professional body.
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous, and complete records of patient consultation.
• Prioritise, organise, and manage own workload while promoting quality.
• Deliver care according to national and local guidelines, working in partnership with other clinical teams.
• Participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes.
• Utilise the audit cycle to evaluate quality and implement improvements as required.
• Evaluate the patients’ response to healthcare provision and the effectiveness of care.
• Support and participate in shared learning across the organisation.
• Participate in the management and review of patient complaints, clinical incidents, and near-miss events.
• Participate in performance monitoring reviews of the team.
• Act as a positive role model and take responsibility for own development and performance.
• Promote the workplace as a learning environment.
• Understand responsibilities and accountability in delivering patient care.
• Participate in planning and implementing changes within the area of care.
• Work with other professionals to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability is available.
• Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols, and standards.
• Critically evaluate innovations relevant to practice.
• Keep up to date with new developments locally and nationally.
• Undertake mandatory and statutory training.
• Act as a mentor to students assessing competency against set standards.
• Provide cover for absent colleagues as necessary.

Person specification

Qualifications

• BSc Nutrition and Dietetics or relevant degree with postgraduate diploma in dietetics.
• Health Professions Council registration for dietetics.
• Full driving license and daily use of a car to visit numerous sites.
• Full member of British Dietetic Association.

Knowledge/Experience

• Comprehensive experience at undergraduate level or at band 5 of the core competencies within Dietetics.
• Experience of working in a mental health setting.
• Preferably experience in the NHS.
• Working with hospital or commercial caterers.

Values

• Accountability
• Support
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet

Skills

• Understanding of professional and ethical issues.
• Assessment, observation, evaluation, and report writing skills.
• Knowledge of current best practices in Dietetics.
• Ability to work independently with access to guidance.
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance.
• Positive and objective interpersonal skills.
• Basic knowledge of health and social care legislation.
• Awareness of research methods and audit skills.
• Basic knowledge of clinical governance principles.
• Understanding of professional conduct and confidentiality.
• Understanding of team dynamics.
• Ability to build effective working relationships.
• Effective personal organisational skills.
• Portfolio of documented evidence of Continuing Professional Development.
• Written and oral communication skills in English sufficient to communicate effectively.
• Basic computer skills and experience of using electronic patient record systems.
• Accurate anthropometric skills.
• Experience of working in collaboration with other professionals.

Functional skill

• Full driving license for community working.