Dietitians are healthcare professionals that diagnose and treat diet and nutritional problems, both at an individual patient and wider public health level. Working in a variety of settings with patients of all ages, dietitians support changes to food intake to address diabetes, food allergies, coeliac disease and metabolic diseases. Dietitians also translate public health and scientific research on food, health and disease into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.
100% of actual salary plus defined on-costs, up to the maximum reimbursable amount of £63,792 over 12 months.
This video was created by Health Education England.
Provide specialist nutrition and diet advice to patients, their carers and healthcare professionals through treatment and education plans and prescriptions.
Educate patients with diet-related disorders on how they can improve their health and prevent disease by adopting healthier eating and drinking habits.
Make recommendations to PCN staff regarding changes to medications for the nutritional management of patients, based on interpretation of biochemical, physiological, and dietary requirements.
Provide dietary support to patients of all ages (from early-life to end-of-life care) in a variety of settings including nurseries, patient homes, and care homes.
Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to gain patients cooperation and understanding in following recommended dietary treatments.
Develop, implement and evaluate a seamless nutrition support service that is aimed at continuously improving standards of patient care and wider MDT working.
Work with clinicians, MDT colleagues, and external agencies to ensure the smooth transition of patients discharged from hospital back into primary care, so that they can continue their diet plan.
Ensure best-practice in clinical practice, caseload management, education, research and audit, to achieve corporate PCN and local population objectives.
Undertake a range of administrative tasks such as ensuring stock levels are maintained and securely stored, and equipment is kept in good working order.
Strong verbal and written communication skills
The ability to explain complex ideas simply
Excellent interpersonal skills to develop relationships with patients/carers
Teamworking skills to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team
The ability to prioritise your work and manage a caseload
Time management skills and the ability to work under pressure
IT skills to record and access patient records
A positive attitude and the ability to motivate others
Understanding and tact to deal with sensitive issues
Negotiation skills to help patients overcome barriers and create positive change
Caring and compassionate approach to other peoples' feelings
Willingness to keep up to date with current nutrition information and research.
e-Learning for Healthcare
The following resources can be accessed via e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH). E-LfH provides free e-learning programmes which can support you in your professional development.
If you do not already have an account, click here to register using your NHS email address. If you already have an account, please use the same link to firstly log in to access the following resources.
The below resources are available to support Allied Health Professionals in their understanding and their development:
Allied Health Professional Careers Resource: The AHP Careers Resource takes eight potential areas for career development, the resource provides a wealth of information to highlight the wide range of available option, all whilst continuing to work clinically if desired. AHP colleagues taking different career journeys from across the 14 disciplines appear on film and share what has helped, what barriers they have overcome, and what they enjoy most about their work.
The Wow Show: A video resource that introduces you to individuals in AHP roles within the NHS to give an understanding of their roles and their experiences.
Resources for AHP in a primary or community setting This package provides training materials and resources useful to Allied Health Professionals working in a primary care or community setting during the current COVID-19 pandemic. It covers a comprehensive set of topics including respiratory assessment, breathlessness, nutritional support and mouth care.
The below resources relate to the practice of a Dietitian and provide guidance regarding various elements of the role:
Healthy Weight Coach: The overall aim of this training programme is to enhance the knowledge and skills of staff working within primary care to support positive changes to people’s health and health behaviours with the aim of promoting a healthier weight. The healthy weight coach is a voluntary role for individuals working within primary care networks, healthcare practices and pharmacies.
Nutrition and Obesity: The resources found in this portal help to develop knowledge and understanding of obesity and weight management, as well as recognising the importance of nutrition and malnutrition in delivering patient care.
Harm Free Care - Nutrition: This course aims to develop the knowledge and understanding of the importance of nutrition and malnutrition in delivering patient care. Undertaking this course will enable you to play a key part in improving the quality of patients'/residents' nutritional care. This is part of a larger programme called Harm Free Care that covers other areas such as Hydration.
Overweight and Underweight: This course specialises in adolescent care and provides 10 sessions surrounding different elements of weight and health within this age range.
Anaeamia in Primary Care: This programme will provide you with an understanding of the clinical definition of anaemia, knowledge of the body’s normal processes for red blood cell production, where things go wrong to cause anaemia, and why. It will also provide you with an understanding of the key interventions for identifying and managing anaemia in primary care.
The below resources relate to eating disorders:
GPs and Primary Care - Understanding Eating Disorders: This course is aimed to equip clinicians with the knowledge and skills needed to be able to identify and assess eating disorders. It includes information on providing medical assessment and treatment, referrals and referral pathways to specialist services and the psychological impact of eating disorders on patients, their families and carers.
Adult Eating Disorder Hub: In this Hub, you can find key trusted evidence-based learning curated and approved by MindEd’s expert panel.
This list is not exhaustive and the programmes available are regularly updated, so we recommend visiting the e-LfH portal and reviewing the available resources via using the “View full catalogue” function, or the “Search the e-learning" function.
The postholder will have access to appropriate clinical supervision and an appropriate named individual in the PCN to provide general advice and support on a day to day basis. Clinical Supervision of Dietitians can be conducted by:
Experienced Dietitian
GP
ACP (3+ years)
If Dietitian has prescribing rights, supervisor must have prescribing rights
Please see below Supervision guidance provided by BDA, NHSEI and HEE.
To train as a Dietitian, you need to complete an approved degree in dietetics. This is usually a 3 or 4 year BSc (Hons) degree, although there are shortened postgraduate programmes if you already have a relevant first degree. If you already have a degree in a life science subject, with an acceptable level of human physiology and biochemistry, you can take a postgraduate Diploma or Masters in Dietetics.
Courses are a mixture of theory and practical work. They cover biochemistry, psychology, nutrition, physiology and communication skills. Practical training is in hospital and community settings.
For an undergraduate degree, you need:
two or three A levels, including Chemistry, Maths or Biology, along with five GCSEs (grades A-C), including English Language and Maths (or)
BTEC, HND or HNC which includes science subjects relevant NVQ
science-based access course
equivalent level Scottish or Irish qualifications
To access a postgraduate course you will normally be expected to hold an honours degree which contains an acceptable level of human physiology and biochemistry.
The BDA have provided a list of recognised HEI where you can study an undergraduate / postgraduate degree to allow you to quality as a dietitian in the UK.
A degree apprenticeship in Dietetics has been approved. This will offer an alternative route to registration with the HCPC. There are no nationally set entry requirements for degree apprenticeships – this will be down to the employer offering the apprenticeship – but you will typically need level 3 qualifications as you will be studying at degree level. Apprenticeships will be with employers, with study at university and vacancies will appear on the NHS Jobs website and the Government’s Find an Apprenticeship website.
Once you have successfully completed a programme approved by the HCPC, you are then eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC. Once registered as a practitioner, you’ll be required to retain your name on the register by keeping your knowledge and skills up to date and paying an annual retention fee.
To practise, dietitians must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). In order to register with the HCPC, completion of an approved degree in dietetics is required. This is usually a BSc (Hons) degree, although there are shortened postgraduate programmes available. A degree apprenticeship standard in dietetics has also been approved.
HEE Primary care FCP training must be completed as the minimum threshold for entry to primary care and be supported by appropriate governance and indemnity.
HEE primary care FCP training can begin 3-5 years postgraduate
Career progression for Dietitians in Primary Care is more closely aligned with the advancement of knowledge and skills in practice, rather than with time.
Dietitians wishing to become a primary care ‘expert generalists’ could undertake relevant training; specialist Masters level modules aimed at post-registration Band 6 Dietitians are currently in development.
There may be opportunities for Dietitians to undertake a Masters in Advanced Clinical Practice, or to upskill to become supplementary prescribers.
There may also be opportunities to take on education roles (e.g. secondment to university Dietetics/ Advanced Practice programmes or local Training Hubs) or to take on Lead roles within local Federations/CCGs.
To support professionals across settings in understanding and supporting people of all ages with an eating disorder, we have worked in partnership with MindEd and NHS England to develop the MindEd Feeding and Eating Disorder Hub.
This document provides a roadmap of education for practice when moving into First Contact Practitioner (FCP) roles, and onward to Advanced Practice (AP) roles in Dietitians.
This document was developed to support PCNs with best practice guidance when accessing a dietitian in primary care. This covers areas such as prevention, treatment and patient satisfaction. Further information can be found here.
This is the first in a series of videos discussing the new dietetic roles in England within the primary care setting. Please check the channel, or subscribe, for further relevant videos.
This paper proposes the creation of a recognised role for primary care ‘expert generalist’ dietitians who are included as essential members of the general practice team and to develop the dietetic workforce to take on this new role.
This series of training programmes was developed in response to the 2017 PHSO investigation into avoidable deaths from eating disorders as outlined in recommendations from the report titled Ignoring the Alarms: How NHS Eating Disorder Services Are Failing Patients (PHSO, 2017). It is designed to ensure that healthcare staff are trained to understand, identify and respond appropriately when faced with a patient with a possible eating disorder.
Jobs
If you are looking for a new position related to this role, we recommend checking both NHS Jobs and HealthjobsUK.
