Specialist Mental Health Dietitian

Job overview

Are you Dietitian who has a passion for providing excellence in the nutritional and dietetic care and who would like to specialise in mental health Dietetics? If yes, we would love to hear from you!

In this role all service users have a mental health diagnosis. And Nutrition and Dietetic Services provide dietary treatment to support the prevention and management of physical health conditions and to promote recovery of mental wellness. Prior working within mental health dietetics is desirable.

The post has a base at the Maudsley Hospital. However, the work is across all SLaM sites covering the boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon with another Dietetic office situated at the Bethlem Royal Hospital.

Main duties of the job

The post includes in-person inpatient working on psychiatric intensive care units, acute, rehab and special care units. And outpatient clinic work with dietetic assessments and reviews offered both virtually and in-person. This role provides dietetic care to young people, adults and older adult service users. There is opportunity to work on forensic and National and Specialist units within the trust.

Referrals are mostly for under-nutrition, underweight and re-feeding syndrome, including tube feeding and over-nutrition and metabolic syndrome linked to mental ill health and psychiatric medications, especially antipsychotics. We provide dietetic support for disordered eating linked to emotional dysregulation and restrictive intake self-harm. Referrals for food allergies / food intolerances, gut issues and specific food likes and dislikes resulting in fewer foods eaten with risk of nutritional deficiencies are common.

The post requires the ability to work safely, effectively, and cordially with individuals and groups. To be flexible, to manage own caseload as well as to provide cover for colleagues in their absence and/or to cover vacancies along with the wider team. Professionalism and excellent communication skills, including use of motivational interviewing techniques to help support behavioural change are key.

As a team we work together to support KCL Dietetic students on placements.

Working for our organisation

The team comprises 16 Dietitians and one Dietetic Assistant practitioner. The dietitians have specialised in mental health dietetics and/or eating disorders. We are a welcoming and friendly team, who are supportive of one another and our MDT colleagues. We work collaboratively and innovatively, building upon the evidence base to advance dietetic practice within mental health, striving to always be at the fore front of mental health dietetics and to provide excellence in dietetic care. Our dietetic offices are located at the Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospitals.

We offer flexible working and are happy to discuss at the interview stage. In this role you work Monday to Friday within the time frames from 7am to 7pm, supporting work life balance. The majority of time spent in this role requires in-person working on site.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.

Overall Job Purpose and responsibilities include:

·To provide a kind, caring and responsive, evidence-based clinical nutrition and dietetics service to young people, adults and older adult service users, who have a mental health diagnosis, on inpatient wards, rehabilitation and special care units and in dietetic outpatient clinics.

·To be an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, representing and advocating for excellence in nutrition and dietetic care for all service users within the clinical remit.

·Support the service by providing nutrition knowledge, dietary advice and training for staff from a variety of other disciplines, which is sound, evidence based and up to date.

·Raise awareness, understanding and effective implementation of the trust nutrition policy.

·To support the development, knowledge and use of the menus, which provide nutrition and hydration within the clinical remit together with the trust lead catering dietitian and trust stakeholders.

·To deliver and develop together with dietetic colleagues a well-established weight management programme for service users living in the community.

·To evaluate and develop dietetic care pathways, integrating, and adding to the latest evidence base, providing excellence, and advancing nutrition and dietetic care.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• HCPC Registered Dietitian
• Relevant Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics
• Strong evidence of continuing professional development
• Membership of British Dietetic Association (BDA) or other body conferring professional indemnity insurance

Desirable criteria

• Membership of relevant professional special interest groups i.e BDA Specialist Mental Health Group

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in nutrition support, including refeeding syndrome, use of oral nutritional supplements and enteral tube feeding
• Experience in clinical dietetic practice specifically in weight management and metabolic syndrome

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working on a psychiatric ward or mental health setting

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Excellent overall knowledge of clinical nutrition and dietetic care.
• Knowledge of the cultural diversity of the client population, in particular food choices, cooking and eating practices

Skills / Abilities

Essential criteria

• Excellent written communication skills
• Skills in evaluating stage of change, motivation, barriers and supporting behavioural change
• Ability to work effectively with individuals and groups
• Able to use word processing and other IT applications
• Able to demonstrate knowledge and adherence to appropriate professional standards

Desirable criteria

• Experience working in research