Advanced Dietitian

Go back Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Advanced Dietitian

The closing date is 24 September 2025

We are looking for an enthusiastic, hardworking and motivated Dietitian, ideally with experience in UGI cancer, to join the Dietetic Team at Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The successful applicant will be working at the Southport & Ormskirk sites with the UGI Cancer Nurse Specialists and Team Lead for Dietetics to continue the OG Rapid Diagnostic Service (RDS) and implement the Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance Optimal Oesophago-Gastric Pathway. Ongoing development and improvement of this service will be expected.

The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal and time management skills, together with an ability to be flexible and a commitment to MDT working. In return, you will have opportunity to further develop and extend your leadership and clinical skills.

The post holder will have a specific interest in UGI dietetics, adult nutritional support and service/ quality improvement.

We are looking for someone who can work as a specialist, autonomous dietitian. You should have strong organisational, communication and leadership skills and embrace the challenge of service development.

Acute care is provided at Southport and Formby and Ormskirk District General Hospital. This includes accident and emergency services, intensive care and a range of medical and surgical specialities.

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change

Main duties of the job

- To have clinical responsibility for the OG cancer pathway nutrition support caseload.
- To provide specialist clinical support to junior staff and students.
- The post holder will demonstrate by example, and have advanced communication skills, using them to motivate, develop, guide and advance dietetic skills required by the team in order to provide a high quality responsive acute dietetic service.
- To provide specialist assessment and management advice for patients whilst working closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team.
- Accept clinical responsibility for and manage a caseload of patients, using advanced knowledge, evidence based/client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions delivered across the acute wards.
- To assist in the meeting of Therapy and Rehabilitation/Trust Objectives in relation to patient care.
- To support the clinical lead in risk assessment for the dietetic team.
- To coordinate, organise, assess, and deploy dietetic students while on their clinical placements

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our Services

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

o Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018

o Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)

o National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Job responsibilities

Please see attached JD for full details

- To provide highly specialist assessment and management advice for patients, working closely with all members of the team.
- Accept clinical responsibility for, and manage, a caseload of complex critically ill patients with complex needs using, expert/specialist knowledge, evidence based/client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions for in patients as required.
- To take part in planning, development, delivery of dietetic services to adults in conjunction with the team leader and clinical therapy manager and hold responsibility for defined projects delegated e.g. risk assessment, documentation and operational policies.
- The post holder will demonstrate by example, have advanced communication and use skills to motivate, develop, guide and advance the dietetic skills required to provide a high-quality responsive team.
- To be responsible for the training of dietetic students on professional practice placements regularly throughout the year as a professional practice educator with specialist clinical knowledge across the acute wards.
- To assist the team leader and clinical service manager in the maintenance and development of the dietetic service.
- To be responsible for educating and developing dietetic staff and other staff in the skills of the dietitian.
- To establish links and networks with other dietetic staff working within defined clinical area at other hospitals and community
- To deputise to team as needed.
- To take part in extended working rotas as appropriate, this could include 7 days working and evenings.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

- Extensive clinical post-graduation experience in specialist area and within acute wards
- Extensive knowledge of the physical and psycho-social impact of critical, acute illness
- Experience of working with multi professional groups involved in the care of critically ill patients
- Operational management, development and supervision of junior staff, students and therapy assistants
- Experience of teaching multi professional staff, students and peers
- Experience of service evaluations and audit processes
- Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio, including attendance at recent post graduate courses relevant to speciality
- Experience of joint working with external organisations, academic institutes where applicable
- Have a detailed awareness of current NHS issues and relevant frameworks/quality indicators
- Evidence of developing services

Skills

- Committed to personal and departmental development
- Able to work well with others and pass on skills and knowledge
- Able to maintain judgement under pressure and manage stress in others
- Have motivation, drive and enthusiasm
- Be able to deal with conflict resolution with staff, patients and members of the public
- Ability to be empathic and discuss sensitive issues
- Self-directed learning
- Clear vision of role and commitment to specialty and be able to represent the service and organisation at Trust initiatives and with outside agencies
- Good computer and telephone skills
- Evidence of advanced communication skills.
- Initiate evidence based practice within the clinical setting and develop local care pathways
- Demonstrate full awareness of clinical governance and its application in therapy

Other

- To be able to assess complex critically ill patients by carrying out a full assessment that often requires changes of position and frequent standing and sitting
- The work pattern is unpredictable and concentration is required for investigating problems, analysis of performance data and policies, interruptions may be frequent where immediate response is required
- Ability to deal with distressing situations within the acute wards and support staff to manage these situations
- To be able to impart distressing information to patients/carers or relatives in a sensitive and supportive way where targets are not met or patient has deteriorated
- To manage working in a highly pressured work environment that is busy and maintain excellent working relationships with the MDT.
- Ability to fulfil the travel requirements of the post

Qualifications

- BSc Degree in nutrition and dietetics (or equivalent)
- Professional Practice Educator Training/qualification
- Masters level clinical courses/or equivalent(e.g. PENG Clinical Update Course)

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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Southport & Formby District General Hospital

£47,810 to £54,710 a yearper annum, pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

409-7424510

Job locations

Southport & Formby District General Hospital

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