Highly Specialist Dietitian

Are you experienced in oncology, keen to work within a very specialist setting and enjoy multidisciplinary working? An opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, experienced and highly motivated dietitian to join our team. The post will cover a variety of cancers with a focus on those with GI symptoms and late effects of treatment. You will have a caseload of inpatients and outpatients.

You should have post registration experience including oncology. You should have experience of leadership including supervising junior staff.

The Nutrition and Dietetics service consists of 23 dietitians split over 2 sites, as well as support staff. The team is part of the Therapies department which is committed to a philosophy that addresses the physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of all individuals with cancer through a genuinely multi-disciplinary approach.

Therapies has a robust training provision that encourages professional and personal development through in-service education and external study leave. The Trust supports research activity and further education. The post will provide ample opportunities to extend your knowledge and skill within a specialist environment and you will be required to undertake service development and teaching.

To make an informal enquiry or to visit us please contact Lucy Eldridge, Head of Nutrition & Dietetics, telephone or email

Main duties of the job

The post-holder should be a skilled practitioner, who has experience of oncology, gastroenterology and nutritional support. The post holder will provide the Royal Marsden Hospital with an effective and flexible nutrition and dietetic service. They will carry a varied caseload including both inpatients and outpatients, including the gastrointestinal late effects service. They will be a source of knowledge and expertise for less experienced colleagues, patients, carers and members of the multidisciplinary team.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals - one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey - as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information please refer to the job description and personal specification.

Work autonomously to provide expert advice to patients, carers and clinicians based on clinical evidence. This will involve

• nutritional diagnosis (interpretation of biochemistry, anthropometrics, clinical condition and analysis of diet history)
• the development of treatment plans (calculation of nutritional requirements and client centred goals)
• determining route of feeding i.e. oral, enteral or parenteral
• prescription of dietary treatment for conditions where there are limited professional guidelines
• direct prescription of ACBS nutritional products
• ordering biochemical tests as appropriate

To monitor and review nutritional care plans against outcome measures and adjust care plans as appropriate to facilitate achievement of goals.

Participate in multidisciplinary meetings and ward rounds to provide expert advice to facilitate :

• treatment planning (e.g. gastroenterology, head and neck)
• rehabilitation
• management of late effects following treatment for cancer

Person specification Qualifications

• HCPC registered
• Evidence of further postgraduate study/training in specialist area e.g. oncology/gastroenterology/nutrition support

Experience/Knowledge

• Ability to appreciate the broad scope of dietetics and be able to operate effectively within an NHS environment
• Appreciate the breadth of oncology, its treatment and understand the nutrition management required
• Previous experience of conducting service improvement, evaluating evidence and/or research

Skills and abilities

• Experience of providing clinical supervision and leadership
• Evidence of professional development, commitment to lifelong learning
• Accurate keyboard skills - data inputting, word processing, internet and dietary analysis

Other

• Evidence of leadership skills
• Member of BDA oncology/ PENG/ Gastroenterology group
• Teaching on higher education / professional courses
• Representative on working party e.g. internal/ external to Trust
• Participation in the production of resources including National diet sheets, podcasts, journal article, etc.

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination - What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.