Mental Health Specialist Dietitian

Job Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the friendly, supportive, and well-established Healthy Living Service Mental Health Dietetics Team. In this post, you will be working within the Older Persons Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs)to lead on the nutritional care for service users with a diverse range of mental health and physical health issues.

You will be responsible for a varied clinical caseload and will work with service users to not only to improve their nutrition, but to also encourage behaviour change to empower servicer users to make positive changes that will improve their mental health, physical health, and overall quality of life. You will provide high quality, evidenced based Dietetic assessments and care, deliver staff training, and contribute to service development. You will be a valued member of the multidisciplinary team (MDT), and have the ability to shape the Dietetic service to best suit the needs of service users and services you work within.

You will be well supported in your role by being part of the Mental Health Dietetics Team, the Healthy Living Service, and the LYPFT Trustwide Dietetics Team. Ideally you will have experience in either mental health or community settings, however we welcome applications from a range of experiences. If you demonstrate a willingness to learn and are interested in specialising in mental health, we can support you to achieve this!

Main duties of the job

We are looking for someone who is motivated, enthusiastic, innovative and caring. This is a varied and exciting role which will provide a valuable development opportunity. The job role is diverse, and you will gain experience in a range of physical health conditions whilst supporting service users in a mental health setting. You will be working face to face in the community, with some mobile/ agile working required. This post provides you with opportunities to consolidate and progress your clinical skills by working with MDTs to improve the physical and mental health of our service users.

The successful applicant will be part of the large and dynamic LYPFT Trustwide Dietetics Team that promotes innovative practice and supports research and development activities across the service. The successful applicant will benefit from:

• Regular management, clinical and professional supervision
• Peer support, sharing of best practice and CPD opportunities within Dietetic teams
• Being a valued member of the MDT and working with jointly with multiple professions, including joint sessions
• Providing clinical supervision to more junior staff members
• Facilitating nutritional training to members of the MDT
• Opportunity to shape the Dietetic service within the older persons CMHTs and lead on service development
  
  
  

Working for our organisation

The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.

There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.

We also have an incredible bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.

Applicants should be aware that for any individual who requires a visa to work in the UK, the Trust provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles only. This is an essential requirement of the role, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you are unable to meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Main duties/ responsibilities:

• To plan, justify and deliver specialised evidence based dietary advice to service users and their carers across the older persons directorate in community settings
• Develop therapeutic relationships with service users and their families/carers in a manner sensitive to cultural and religious needs
• To utilise a wide range of communication skills in a variety of contexts, and communicate complex information effectively using appropriate aids and skills with individuals that have complex and or special needs and where there may be cultural differences and /or a barrier to understanding
• To work in collaboration with the service user, carer and members of the clinical team, develop a care plan to meet nutritional needs and formulated goals
• To negotiate change with groups or individuals or carers to enable them to achieve dietary/ treatment targets set using advanced counselling, motivational interviewing and behaviour change techniques
• Contribute to the development work of the service working in partnership with other members of the healthy living team, CMHTs, local community organisations and groups as appropriate to needs of the service and service users
• To support and lead on audits, research and development activity within the service
• To ensure safe practice at all times through the recognition and appreciation of clinical governance
• To recognise limits of your own role, responsibilities and knowledge. To seek advice and support when appropriate
• Willing to undertake training relevant to the post
  
  
  

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

For both documents, please view the attachments.

This post provides a new challenge for a motivated individual interested in broadening their dietetic knowledge, skills, and experience whilst working in mental health. Experience of working in mental health is desirable, but not essential, and you will be provided with the support you need to succeed.

A car driver is essential to this post. Please confirm you hold a full licence and have access to a car in your application.

We welcome and encourage enquiries, informal visits and applications. Like to know more? Talk to Adelle Bryden-Brown, Clinical Lead Dietitian on 07989 412 959 or [email protected]

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Bsc Hons or post graduate diploma in dietetics
• HCPC registered
  
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience and/ or knowledge of the role of dietetics in mental health services
• Experience and/ or knowledge or working as a Dietitian in a community setting
• At least 1 year experience working as a Band 5 Dietitian
  
  
  

Membership

Desirable criteria

• Member of the British Dietetic Association
• Member of the BDA Mental Health Specialist Group