Neonatal Dietitian

Due to recommendations of the Ockendon enquiry there is an increase in funding for AHPS. We have received funding for 0.25wte dietitian (9.4 hours/week). You will work closely with the ward MDT to complete dietetic assessments and agree a nutritional plan in conjunction with the team. You will need to have a sound knowledge of biochemistry and the ability to develop and monitor complex feeding regimens. You will work closely with the clinical team and will have a role in service improvement both in establishing and developing this new service. Within this role you will provide a specialist dietetic service to sick and preterm infants (neonates) at Kettering General Hospital.

This post will require highly specialised knowledge and skills to ensure evidence based nutritional assessment, treatment and management for neonates with specialist nutritional needs. You will complete holistic dietetic assessment, using complex biochemistry and provide interventions to infants referred into the service. You will adjust infant formula and calculate and manage complex enteral and parental nutrition regimens which link into the wider MDT care plans. You will have a sound knowledge of the physiological development of term and preterm infants, taking into account gestational age, and understand the impact this has on nutritional interventions.

The post holder will also develop the dietetic role within the neonatal service and ensure dietetic presence at both sites (where appropriate), working alongside therapy colleagues, the wider MDT and the Lead Dietitian in the East Midlands Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (EMNODN) to support the development, implementation and audit of dietetic protocols. You will have an active role in education and training, audit and there is the possibility of being involved in research.

You will be working as an autonomous practitioner but be a team player. You will be involved in developing care pathways. You will have excellent communication skills and the ability to use different approaches flexibly to meet the needs of our infants, parents and promote engagement.

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.