Specialist Dietitian

Go back County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Specialist Dietitian

The closing date is 01 September 2025

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Specialist Dietitian to join our acute inpatient team covering wards and ICU. ICU experience is beneficial but not an essential requirement as training can be providedWe would love to show you our department. Follow us on social media at Instagram cddftdietitians, are a proactive department with a strong focus on service improvement, digital advancement and staff development. We have a preceptorship programme for new staff, regular clinical supervision and lots of CPD opportunities to support career progression.County Durham is an excellent place to live. With beautiful countryside and coastlines alongside interesting towns and cities. There are excellent transport links to Newcastle (30 minutes via train from Darlington) and York (30 minutes via train from Darlington) as well as having rail links to other UK cities and international travel from Newcastle and Teesside International Airport

Main duties of the job

This post is to provide dietetic care to acute inpatient wards, including critical care at University Hospital North Durham. The post holder will be based at University Hospital North Durham but may be occasionally required to cover other areas within the locality of County Durham and Darlington including University Hospital North Durham and Bishop Auckland Hospital. There will also be telephone clinics. Previous experience in MDT working, enteral Nutrition, parenteral nutrition and critical care is preferred. As a team we complete competencies to enable us to work in extended scope practice in enteral tube feeding

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents

Over reliance onAI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances ofsuccess

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two yearsof experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to considersponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria andhave a current visa expiring within 3 months)

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for their own caseload.They will work as part of the acute dietetic team and assist in daily triagingof in-patient referrals including prioritisation. They will work alongsideother Dietitians covering critical care and wards. Patients will be seen in avariety of settings including hospital wards, outpatient clinics, and telephoneclinics. The post holder will work closely with other Dietitians and the widermultidisciplinary team.

We use electronic patient records in all areas of theservice - Cerner for in-patients, MDT clinics and Consultant-led outpatients,SystmOne for community

The department trains dietetic students (A, B and Cplacement) and the post holder will have an active role in student trainingplanning, co-ordination and assessment

The Nutrition and Dietetic service is structured into teams;secondary care (incorporating nutrition support and critical care), bariatrics,primary care (incorporating care home training), adult & paediatricdiabetes, adult Home Enteral Feeding, paediatrics (incorporating Home EnteralFeeding and paediatric weight management). the nutrition and dietetic servicecomprises of 6 teams, with 44 Dietitians, 1 Specialist Nurse, 4 Dieteticassistants and we are supported by central administration. We are based on 4sites in the County, at Darlington Memorial Hospital, University Hospital NorthDurham, Bishop Auckland Hospital and Shotley Bridge Hospital

Person Specification Statutory Registration

• Registered with the Health Care Professions Council

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Completion of post-graduate specialist education e.g. PENG course or other
• Ability to plan, initiate and evaluate new services and manage change
• Has a highly developed understanding of the changing NHS environment and its impact on service provision and staff.
• Understanding of local and national strategies and policies relating to nutrition, health and social care as relevant to community dietetics
• Member of BDA
• Member of relevant specialist sub-groups (eg. PENG, BAPEN, BDA CCSG)
• Extended scope practice competence for feeding tubes eg. Replacement of Y-ends, advance & rotation of tubes

Qualifications

• Clinical supervisory skills
• Leadership Training
• Working towards or hold Masters Degree
• Completion of PENG course

Experience

• Previous experience of working in a variety of clinical settings
• Experience of working within MDT environments
• Previous experience of audit and research including submission / presentation to journals / conferences
• Previous experience of working within nutrition support and critical care

Special Requirements

• Able to meet the travel requirements of the post

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.

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

£38,682 to £46,580 a yearper annum, pro rata or Annex 21