Specialist Paediatric Dietitian

An exciting vacancy has arisen for an enthusiastic and self-motivated Dietitian to work as a Specialist Band 7 Paediatric Dietitian at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. This is a 1-year fixed term maternity leave cover starting in January 2025.

Your base will be Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Greenwich. We are looking for a dietitian who is keen to innovate and work together with our acute across site team.

You will join a friendly department comprising 35 dietitians across the two Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust hospital sites.

Main duties of the job

This post will be the inpatient lead at QEH, covering HDU (4 beds) and sharing the children's ward with our Band 6 Paediatric Dietitian who you will directly supervise.

The post will also provide 2 outpatient clinics a week, one general and the other consisting of neonatal graduates and the under 1's. You will be actively involved in training students from the London universities on the 1,2,3 Placement programme.

• Responsible for the 4-bedded HDU.
• Share the children's ward with the Band 6 Paediatric Dietitian.
• Provide two outpatient clinics a week:
  • One general clinic.
  • One for children under one year old and Neonatal graduates.
• Actively involved in training students from London universities on the 1,2,3 Placement programme.
• Provide Band 6 Paediatric supervision.
• Participate in audits, service evaluations, and continuous professional development.
• Take a lead in service improvements and developing policies and guidelines.

Lewisham and Greenwich is a very friendly supportive NHS Trust, with a strong focus on staff well being.

About us

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

• Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development.
• Widening access (anchor institution) and employability.
• Improving the experience of staff with disability.
• Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development.
• Making equalities mainstream.

Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

Key Result Areas & Performance:

The post holder will be the clinical paediatric team lead for QEH. They will provide the HDU service (4 beds) on the children's ward and jointly share acute Paediatric inpatients. They will support the across site neonatal post and provide an outpatient clinic. You will be actively involved in training students from the London universities on the 1,2,3 Placement programme. All dietetic staff are encouraged to participate in audits, service evaluations, and continuous professional development. Band 7s take a lead in service improvements and developing policies and guidelines, offer supervision and support to Band 5 and Band 6 dietitians across the trust and develop specialist resources. This post is accountable to the Head of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Clinical Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide expert, specialist, evidence-based, dietetic advice and care to paediatric patients and their carers.
• Work autonomously when assessing patients, making clinical decisions, selecting treatments and evaluating outcomes of dietetic interventions.
• Collaborate with team members to ensure the child receives care and advice on all aspects of feeding at home.
• Develop and maintain close communications with all health care professionals to provide co-ordinated patient-centred care.
• Work with families who may have learning disabilities, mental health problems and challenging behaviours.
• Document all activities concerning patient care in the electronic paediatric dietetic patient record notes.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Training

• Current State Registration
• Advanced BDA course in paediatrics (or equivalent)
• Specialist paediatric training/experience working to or at masters level
• Registration with Health Professional Council
• British Dietetic Association member or equivalent professional insurance
• Evidence of ongoing Professional development
• Interest in Research

Experience

• Significant experience of paediatric dietetics
• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Evidence of training student dietitians
• Experience of working in complex safeguarding situations
• Previous experience of conducting audits and or research

Knowledge & Skills

• Understand and abide by standards of professional practice, including confidentiality
• Computer Literacy, able to use Word, Excel
• Accurate anthropometrics measurement skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£46,148 to £52,809 a year per annum plus HCA pro rata