Dietetic Assistant Oxford, England
Job description
We are looking for a Dietetic Assistant to join our busy hospital-based team of Dietitians. Our team of Dietetic Assistants work across both the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals. The Dietetic Assistant plays a critically important role in supporting our service.
This role will involve working directly with patients, healthcare professionals and catering; administrative tasks; and the ordering, movement, and stock control of nutritional products.
Applicants need to be interested in nutrition and working in a hospital environment. Although not essential to the role, a background or qualification in human nutrition is desirable. We welcome individuals who are organised, flexible, who can communicate well and can work independently and as part of a team.
Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family.
Find out more here www.ouh.nhs.uk
To support the department’s role in patient catering by helping to analyse, code and provide allergy information for patient menus; under the guidance of a dietitian, help patients requiring a special diet to choose and obtain their required meals / snacks / etc; act as an intermediary between the dietetic and catering departments and enhancing communication to achieve the optimal provision of nutrition for patients in hospital.
To assist Dietitians and Secretaries in completing general administrative tasks, such as registering or amending patient registrations on the Abbott Hospital to Home Service, keeping track of feeding pumps given to patients, stock control, data input or letters.
To assist Dietitians to enable patients to be discharged from hospital promptly, for example to provide patient information, feeding pump or equipment, needed by patients prior to hospital discharge; and to co-ordinate supplies of nutritional supplements or tube feeds for patients.
After training, to support dietitians in delivering aspects of dietetic care by reviewing, monitoring, and advising patients and undertaking related administration.
To participate in project work and be involved with education and training of staff, such as housekeepers in aspects of nutrition or nutritional screening e.g. MUST training.
To undertake and oversee the ordering, delivery and payment of nutritional products (e.g. tube feeds and sip feeds).
Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) is a world-renowned centre of clinical excellence and one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the UK. We employ approximately 12,500 staff (including over 4,000 nurses and 2,000 doctors and 850 AHP staff). The Trust comprises four main hospital sites: the John Radcliffe Hospital (which includes the Children's Hospital, West Wing, Eye Hospital, Heart Centre and Women's Centre), the Churchill Hospital and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, all located in Oxford, and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, North Oxfordshire.
The acute adult dietetics team is made up of ~50 Dietitians, 6 Dietetic Assistants and administrative support. There are 7 acute clinical teams, each responsible for providing a service to specialist clinical areas while working collaboratively across all OUH sites. We work closely with the children’s dietitians, and the Oxford Health community dietitians.
Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Find out more here www.ouh.nhs.uk
CLINICAL
1) After training, to review and monitor a small case load of named patients under the supervision of a dietitian, e.g. patients on established tube feeds, limited nutritional intake and those following therapeutic diets. This may involve:
a) Gathering relevant clinical information from electronic patient records, nursing staff or housekeepers, patients and carers
b) Liaise with nursing staff and other members of the multidisciplinary team, for example, Speech and Language Therapists (SALT), Occupational Therapists about the patient’s nutritional plan
c) Calculate patients’ intake from food record charts, which may involve using a dietary analysis computer package
d) Monitor patient in order to achieve optimum nutritional intake
e) Assess patient’s tolerance to tube feeding
f) Regularly liaise with the supervising dietitian about all aspects of patients nutritional care
g) Record all interventions and actions on electronic patient records (EPR) ensuring that all entries meet the professional standards of the British Dietetic Association
2) Oversee the completion of daily menus for all patients on therapeutic diets. This involves face-to-face discussion with patients and/or their relatives or carers, working closely with Catering staff.
3) To be involved with education and training of staff, such as housekeepers in aspects of nutrition or nutritional screening e.g. MUST training.
PROFESSIONAL
Participate in the induction of new ward and dietetic staff; demonstrating the role of the Dietetic Assistant as well as informing them about the provision of therapeutic meals, nutritional supplement products and raising nutritional awareness in their ward areas.
If required, participate in training the Diet Chefs, Catering Assistants or ward staff, about the importance of nutrition and educate on the special and therapeutic diets using a variety of teaching methods. It may be necessary to adapt the teaching methods used to facilitate those with limited English.
To be involved in project work including review audits, working alongside dietitians, other health professionals and catering staff, for example, mealtime observation audits, patient mealtime satisfaction survey.
To work alongside Dietetic colleagues, Catering and administrative staff, learning by experience and improving working practice on an on-going basis.
If required, to deliver training to staff and/or patients under the supervision of a Dietitian.
Participate in annual appraisal, identifying own developmental and training needs and setting a personal developmental plan.
CATERING
Liaise with dietitians, patients, the catering department and ward staff to ensure the provision of therapeutic diets, appropriate snacks, supplements and enteral feeds runs smoothly.
Work as an active and contributing member of the dietetic catering group, and provide regular feedback to the rest of the dietetic department.
When required, code menus to reflect changes in food supplied, which will involve communicating with the catering suppliers, catering managers, dietitians and chefs across all four hospitals.
Work with the dietitian to alter menus as necessary, update the special diet manuals and nutrition policy. Disseminate this information throughout the Trust and on the Intranet site.
ADMINISTRATION
Be responsible for the ordering and supply of nutritional products to wards and outpatients. This involves:
a) Conducting weekly stock takes and placing orders for tube feeds and nutritional supplements, with different nutritional suppliers, liaising with customer services and nutritional representatives as necessary.
b) Ensuring all invoices are processed and sent to finance for payment.
c) Maintaining record charts for regular stock checking and billing hospital wards for nutritional supplements and enteral feeds.
Be responsible for maintaining a supply of feeding pumps for use on the ward or at home. This involves:
a) Liaising with nutritional suppliers’ representatives and customer services when requesting a delivery.
b) Sending new pumps and those for repair or servicing to Clinical Engineering.
c) Regularly checking wards to ensure pumps are present and operating efficiently.
Complete appropriate paperwork when patients on enteral feeds are discharged from hospital.
To assist the Department Secretaries in completing general administrative / secretarial tasks. This may include answering and dealing with telephone calls, entering Department patient activity data (‘stats’) onto the department spreadsheet, general department wide administration, etc.
ORGANISATIONAL
To determine priorities for own work area based on clinical need and balance patient caseload with other professional demands, for example.
To collect data as required by the department, trust and outside agencies.
To maintain accurate and up to date documentation of patient interventions on electronic records.
To undertake and oversee the ordering, delivery and payment of nutritional products (e.g. tube feeds and sip feeds).
