Job overview

• To work in collaboration with the Catering and Dietetic Teams as the Trust Lead Catering
Dietitian.
• To work with front line catering teams, catering managers, Dietitians, Speech and Language
Therapists, Pharmacists, Nursing teams and other stakeholders to ensure the Trust delivers a
wide range of standard hospital menus, therapeutic, religious, and cultural diets.
• To act as a source of expertise in the analysis, development, and review of hospital menus.
• Ensure all hospital menus are nutritionally adequate and reflect best practice guidelines
including hospital food standards, allergen information and International Dysphagia Diet
Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) recommendations.
• To work jointly with patients/service users, catering, Dietetics and Speech and Language
Therapy to initiate, plan and deliver Trust education and training in nutrition.
• To represent dietetics and catering at the Trust Nutrition and Hydration Steering Group, Patient
Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) audits and catering meetings.
• Provide highly specialist Dietetic assessment, treatment, monitoring and management in one or
more speciality areas of Dietetics when required.
• Act as a source of expertise in Dietetics practice locally, regionally and nationally.

Main duties of the job

Education
• Maintain up to date knowledge and competence in line with professional and service
requirements and demonstrate critical thinking, decision-making and reflective skills to ensure
own professional development.
• Regularly involved in the practical training of student Dietitians and of health care professionals
and assistants.
• Presents at internal, local and national conferences.
• Create an environment in which learning, and practice development is fostered, evaluated, and
disseminated.
• Is responsible for the training of catering and other staff in the role of nutrition.
• Facilitates effective learning within the area of practise for all practitioners including students.
Leadership
• When appropriate takes responsibility for clinical supervision/mentorship of junior qualified
staff and Student Dietitians.
• Support staff within the same specialty areas in prioritising workload.
• Sets objectives, by which performance can be managed.
• Provides reports to the service lead as requested.
• Undertakes clinical/service improvement projects and audits.
Information Resources
• Maintains patient/service user records of care and activity analysis as required in written and
electronic format.
• Participates in the updating and development of patient/service user information and teaching
materials using Trust guidance on accessible patient/service user information leaflets and make
available for national use.

Working for our organisation

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.