Dietetic Support Worker

To carry out assigned tasks and duties that support and complement the work of dietitians based at Torbay Hospital. This includes supporting the teams with admin tasks and collecting patient information from inpatients and outpatients, to aid dietetic assessment and monitoring progress with dietetic plans.

To carry out assigned tasks and duties to support the day-to-day care of patients within the caseload of the acute and diabetes dietitians. The caseload will include patients in an inpatient and outpatient setting and will predominantly be working with adults however part of the role will be assisting the diabetes dietitians who support children and young people.

To provide administrative support to the teams including coordinating referrals, and diabetes patient education and helping with projects which enhance the care we deliver and raise the profile of nutrition.

Why Work With Us

About your new team and department

This post is based at Torbay Hospital with the Acute and Diabetes team dietitians.

The Acute and Diabetes teams are part of the wider dietetic team including Community, Paediatrics, Weight Management, and Cancer Services.

The team has over 40 staff members – dietitians, dietetic support workers and admin support.

The team is actively involved with training of student Dietitians from Plymouth University.

Communication and working relationships

To liaise daily with the dietitians regarding inpatients' and outpatients' nutritional care plans

To liaise with dietitians and catering staff with regard to patients progress, the provision of therapeutic diets and snacks

To communicate directly with dietetic and other hospital staff and multidisciplinary team members in the delivery and planning of patient care

To communicate effectively with other disciplines both internally and externally

To exercise judgement when dealing with enquiries from patients' relatives, medical staff and public and analyse and deal with problems as appropriate and in a sensitive manner

Communicate with staff to promote the use of the MUST nutritional screening tool

To use the telephone to receive referrals, review patients and respond to requests for information in a sensitive and supportive manner. This may include giving first line advice.

To use an agreed pro-forma to undertake telephone reviews for patients under the care of the team

To disseminate knowledge to dietetic staff through in-service training and initiate and provide training/presentation sessions for other healthcare professions and patient groups

To contribute to the education of multidisciplinary groups, patients, families, carers and general public as appropriate

To liaise with company representatives regarding specialist nutritional products information as required

Planning and organisation

To organise and coordinate the type 1 diabetes education programme

Prioritise workload in a satisfactory manner in order to meet specified deadlines

To manage own caseload of selected patients implementing nutritional care plans and monitoring progress against agreed specific criteria and seeking assistance appropriately

To help update and maintain department internal and external websites

Responsibility and accountability

To understand and carry out a range of daily work procedures following on-the-job training. This will include undertaking anthropometric and body composition measurements and taking dietary histories

To monitor and accurately record patient intake of food, fluid, snacks and supplements and to ensure the completion of food record charts as required by the acute dietitians.

To maintain accurate, timely, documentation in dietetic records in line with trust guidelines and inform supervising dietitian of all interventions.

To keep accurate statistics of daily activities in line with service and trust requirements

To be able to multi-task and work in an environment with interruptions where concentration is required

To be responsible for and actively record your own personal development

To be involved in the planning of Nutrition Support and Diabetes study days in the hospital and wider health community

To assist in the planning, organisation, delivery and evaluation of study days when required

To maintain and improve professional knowledge through attendance at study days as agreed with the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics

To undertake any other duties that may be required by the Team Lead or Head of Dietetics

Professional accountability is to the Lead Dietitian

Responsibility for patients and client care

To help patients to improve their nutritional intake by offering assistance and advice regarding menu choices suitable for their dietary needs

To support the dietitian with patients requiring nutritional supplements such as trialling supplements with patients to identify taste and preferences, monitoring actual intake and trialling alternative products.

To gather information regarding the barriers that a patient has surrounding eating

To seek advice from the dietitians when progression of treatment is required or a change to a patient's condition has occurred

Policy and service responsibility

To maintain standards of confidentiality.

To contribute to audit projects which will include clinical data collection and collation to demonstrate outcomes of care and satisfaction survey.

To demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical risk and reporting untoward incidents and complaints both verbally to seniors and in writing

In line with the Trust's commitment to Clinical Governance, to participate in clinical audit and evaluate your own clinical effectiveness

To comply with fire, health & safety, universal precautions, infection control and all other departmental policies

Responsibility for equipment and other resources

To be responsible for anthropometric and body composition equipment

To monitor ordering and report on use of oral nutritional supplements across the hospital

Responsibility for supervision, leadership and management

To assist, if required, in the training of students on clinical placement and of other dietetic support workers

Information technology and administrative duties

To assist the dietitians in the administrative and computing tasks not requiring the expertise of a dietitian such as computer analysis of patient intakes, assisting in the discharge of patients on home enteral feeds, maintaining databases.

To file dietetic clinic patient cards and to pull these in a timely manner for the dietitian ahead of their clinic

To complete general office administration such as writing and emailing letters to GPs, filing, enveloping letters, typing, collection of clinic cards in preparation for outpatient clinics, arranging appointments

To participate in a number of clinical/non clinical audits e.g. documentation audit

To use a computer package to generate dietary analysis information as requested by dietitians

To participate in menu analysis/ catering audits to ensure that hospital menus meet NHS and Trust standards and the nutritional needs of patients.

To plan group sessions for patients with support from the dietitian including inviting patients, sending out letters, blood forms, symptom evaluation forms etc. to patient

To develop resources for displays at study days/for health promotion

To support the service in preparation, delivery and evaluation of presentations to patients or staff groups as required

Take minutes at all team meetings and support completion of actions raised

To undertake stock control and ordering of nutritional products, diet sheets, information leaflets

To organise patient appointments as needed

To send and receive emails and to use computer packages to produce dietetic resources