Bank Nutrition Assistant (ward-based) London
Job description
This role will provide nutrition assistance on care of the elderly wards. It will support patients and other staff to provide optimal nutritional care to improve outcomes and collect data to evidence the impact the role can bring. To act as the key point of contact for nutrition for all patients on your ward, liaising with patients, family members, nursing staff, catering staff and the ward Dietitian and to be a key member of the ward team To assist the qualified nursing staff in providing physical nutritional support for patients, including assisting with mealtimes, communicating dietary requirements and preferences, encouraging choice of appropriate menu options and promoting additional nutrition via food fortification, nourishing fluids, nutritional snacks and supplements To assist in assessing patient’s nutritional needs ensuring nutritional risk assessment tool (MUST) is completed on admission, including writing care plans, liaising with family members, basic nutrition education ,initiating first line nutrition support according to local policies and referring to the Dietitian where appropriate To assist in the maintenance of accurate records of nutritional intake, including food charts To keep an updated record of additional nutritional support provided to monitor stock levels of nutritional supplements and snacks and order appropriately To promote nutrition in the ward, including running educational sessions for staff and social dining events for patients, such as tea parties and themed snack rounds To collect data on patients nutritional intake and outcomes to evidence the impact of the role We havesixexciting new short-term, full-time, Monday-Friday, bank positions available from January until the end of March 2022 on our care of the elderly wards, with four based at Northwick Park Hospital and two based at Ealing Hospital. We are seeking enthusiastic and motivated individuals with patient-facing experience in a healthcare setting and a passion for nutrition to promote the importance of nutrition in patient recovery and to become a key part of our ward teams. This is a rare opportunity to be part of a network of nutrition innovators in our Trust aiming to demonstrate the value of dedicated ward-based nutrition care for our most vulnerable patients. You will be based on one ward and become a nutrition advocate, be involved in nutrition screening and intake documentation, educate patients and staff, provide mealtime support, liaise with the ward Dietitian and collect clinical outcome data. You will encourage patients to choose nourishing options by finding out what they like and offering additional snacks, supplements and fortified options and running social events like tea parties. To work under the supervision of a qualified nurse and assist in providing nutritional support for patients To assist with menu taking, mealtimes, snack rounds, nutrition screening and documentation To keep accurate records in relation to patient documentation and research data Works within guidelines of work schedule, however has freedom to implement improvements Supervise junior health care assistants making a contribution to their training and development To exercise accountability as set out in the NMC Code of Professional Conduct To maintain high clinical standards To report any concern regarding patient care
