About this role
Job summary
Lead front-door dietetics where clinical decisions matter most!
We're looking for a Senior Specialist Dietitian to take a leading role within our Front Door Services at Weston General Hospital - supporting patients at the most critical point in their hospital journey.
This is not a routine acute role.You'll be:
making rapid, complex clinical decisions influencing admission pathways and patient flow leading the dietetic care of patients from front door and admission wards shaping how dietetics is delivered at the earliest stage of care This is a high-autonomy, high-impact role combining clinical expertise, leadership, and service development.
Who is this role for?
Senior Dietitians looking for:
greater clinical autonomy the chance to lead and influence pathways a role where your decisions directly impact patient outcomes at pace We welcome strong Band 6 applicants who have had leadership responsibilities plus experience in managing complex caseloads & service improvement or project work.
For an informal chat, please contact: [email protected]
Main duties of the job
What you'll be doing:
Managing a complex front-door caseload with rapid clinical decision-making Identifying & treating nutritional risk early, supporting patient flow & admission avoidance Working closely with frailty teams, consultants, & MDTs Leading development of the front door dietetic pathway Line managing & supporting junior staff Contributing to audit, service improvement, & training What makes this role different?
As the lead dietitian across ED, assessment units, & admissions, you will:
take ownership of a fast-paced, high-impact caseload influence decisions at the point of admission support admission avoidance through early intervention act as the clinical expert in complex nutrition support (including enteral feeding) shape & develop a growing front door service Leadership & impact
You'll play a key leadership role within the team, including:
Line management & supervision of junior staff Supporting student training and workforce development Leading audit, service improvement, & pathway redesign Developing guidelines, protocols, and resource Why Weston General Hospital?
Weston offers something different compared to larger centres:
Greater autonomy - your voice is heard and your decisions shape services Closer MDT working - genuine collaboration across teams Real opportunity to influence and innovate within a developing front door model All of this in a coastal location, with easy access to Bristol and Bath - giving you both lifestyle & career opportunity.
About us
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England.
UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.
Job description Job responsibilities
The Senior Specialist Dietitian provides a highly specialist clinical service for patients who present at our front door i.e. Emergency Department, assessment units and admission wards.
The Senior Specialist Dietitian will lead the Front Door Pathway providing direction for peers & colleagues.
The role will support the early identification of those patients at nutritional risk by promoting risk screening.
To guide early implementation of therapeutic dietary plans for patients with long term conditions or specialist pathways in liaison with lead specialist dietitians.
To support admission avoidance by providing timely dietary interventions, sign posting to relevant community services.
The Senior Specialist Dietitian contributes to all relevant activities involved in pathway delivery e.g. ward rounds, meetings, audit, and research.
The Senior Specialist Dietitian will provide a comprehensive specialised service, which includes relevant education and/or training to all healthcare professionals, carers and other workers.
The Senior Specialist Dietitian will be committed to the maintenance of personal specialist expertise, which is current, relevant, and accessible.
The post holder will also provide clinical cover for other senior specialist dietitians duties in their absence.
See Job description for full details
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience Essential
oE1 Significant clinical experience in: -Nutritional Support/Therapy in the relevant pathways of care ie frailty, care of the elderly, -Chronic Disease Management -Enteral Nutrition Support This should include a significant period of time working in a clinical speciality at a senior level (E) oE2 Working as part of a multi-professional team (E) oE3 Experience of training dietetic students at all grades (E) oE4 Experience of audit and/or quality assurance (E) oE6 Experience of managing/supervising junior staff (E) oE9 Experience of working in a multicultural setting (E)
Desirable
oE5 Experience of producing protocols and procedures for use by others (D) oE7 Experience or involvement of implementing guidance, policy (D) oE8 Research and Development (D)
Skills and Abilities Essential
oS1 Advanced communications skills at all levels (E) -Oral -Written -Interpersonal oS2 Good organisational skills and time management (E) oS3 Teaching/presentation skills in a variety of settings and to professional groups/grades at undergraduate, postgraduate and higher degree level (E) oS4 Computer skills i.e. Databases, Excel and use of dietary analysis programs (E) oS5 Advanced analytical and clinical reasoning skills (E) oS8 Behavioural and motivational interviewing skills (E)
Desirable
oS6 Counselling skills (D) oS7 Evidence of published own work/articles etc. (D)
Qualifications and Training Essential
oQ1 HCPC registration (E) oQ2 Degree/postgraduate qualification in nutrition and dietetics (E) oQ3 Evidence of extensive postgraduate training relevant to post (E) oQ4 Clinical supervisory skills course (E) oQ5 Postgraduate diploma/MSc or equivalent evidence of advanced dietetic practice (E) oQ8 PENG Group Clinical Update Course and/or Behaviour Change Course (E)
Desirable
oQ6 BDA membership (D) oQ7 Teaching qualification (D)
Aptitudes Essential
oA1 Ability to work under pressure (E) oA2 Ability to both work alone and as a team player (E) oA3 Able to maintain effective working relationships across different professions (E) oA4 Ability to work under own initiative (E) oA5 Flexibility (E) oA6 Reflective approach to practice (E) oA7 Ability to process highly complex information or situations (E) oA8 Ability to deal with challenging behaviours of patients, carers and students (E) oA9 Promotes professional interests (E)
Desirable
oA10 Active/committee member of BDA Specialist Interest Group (D)
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)
Address Weston General Hospital
Grange Road
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 4TQ
Employer's website https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)