Dietetic and Speech and Language therapy Assistant

Are you looking to further your career in either Speech and Language Therapy or Nutrition and Dietetics? An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our teams on a full time, permanent basis within a new role. The role will be split across the acute Speech and Language Therapy team and the acute Dietetic team working cross site between Epsom General Hospital and St Helier Hospital. The role will be varied, suiting someone who wants to work in a busy and fast based clinical environment with new challenges and learning opportunities.

• To support the Dietitians and Speech and Language therapists to provide a service to patients referred by nursing and medical staff for nutritional, swallowing and communication support.
• To provide education (teaching sessions and presentations) to members of the MDT on the impact of poor nutrition, swallowing and communication problems and to raise awareness of the importance of these in hospital.
• Reviewing stable patients and their nutritional, swallowing and communication needs, alongside support of senior colleagues as needed.
• To deliver Speech and Language Therapy interventions.
• Work with all members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to ensure patients’ needs are met, including other therapists, medical staff, nursing staff and ward hosts/hostesses.
• Develop the Dietetic and SLT assistant role within the ward area.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a range of medical services to approximately 490,000 people living across southwest London and northeast Surrey. In addition, we provide more specialist services, in particular renal and neonatal intensive care, to a wider area, covering parts of Sussex and Hampshire.

We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country, as well as some poorer areas. Together with our colleagues at NHS Surrey and NHS Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve.

The Trust employs approximately 5,000 staff across its hospitals and is supported by over 500 volunteers.

Inpatients

• To support the Dietitians and Speech and Language therapists to provide a service to patients referred by nursing and medical staff for nutritional, swallowing and communication by:

1. Obtaining relevant information from medical notes, patient and hospital staff.
2. Reviewing stable patients and their nutritional, swallowing and communication needs, alongside support of senior colleagues as needed.
3. Telephone reviews for non-complex nutrition patients, including obtaining case histories.
4. Supporting Dietitians with enteral tube feeding discharges including delivering equipment to the wards.
5. Delivering pre planned SLT interventions to patients in the acute setting as directed by qualified SLT, which might include inpatients and outpatients receiving voice therapy.
6. Monitoring MUST score and food record charts, and encourage nursing staff to complete these.
7. Advising and educating patients where necessary on menu options and foods suitable for their dietary and textural needs.
8. Encouraging and assisting patients to choose and take appropriate snacks, nourishing drinks and prescribed supplements as per their diet recommendations.
9. Identifying patients’ food and drink preferences as necessary with regard to snacks, nourishing drinks and prescribed supplements, alongside their diet recommendations.
10. Liaising with Dietitians and SLT’s regarding patients’ progress.
11. Recording information in the medical, nursing, Dietetic and SLT notes.

• Work with all members of the multi disciplinary team (MDT) to ensure patients’ needs are met, including other therapists, medical staff, nursing staff and ward hosts/hostesses.
• Involve and communicate patient’s needs to relatives.
• Contribute to ward/dietetic/SLT department displays.
• Develop the Dietetic and SLT assistant role within the ward area.

Catering

• To provide a link between the catering department and the dietetic and the SLT department through regular communication with catering staff including ward hosts/hostess’ and catering managers, and food and snack ordering.
• To organise and negotiate appropriate diets or food choices for patients with catering staff as required.
• Participate in ongoing menu reviews.

Teaching and Training

• To provide education (teaching sessions and presentations) to members of the MDT on the impact of poor nutrition, swallowing and communication problems and to raise awareness of the importance of these in hospital.
• To be involved in nutrition induction training for new staffs both face to face and virtually.
• Support the Dietitians and SLTs with student training.

Communication

• To communicate with colleagues, patients and visitors in a polite and professional manner at all times.
• To effectively communicate nutrition, swallow and communication information to hospital staff, patients, relatives and carers, which may require negotiation and persuasion skills including situations where there are barriers to understanding or communication.
• To contribute to effective team working within multidisciplinary teams.
• To handover patient information to Dietetic or SLT colleagues at other Trusts and community teams as advised by qualified therapist, as well as writing and sending GP prescription letter requests.
• To liaise with Dietetic or SLT Assistants at other Trusts (where relevant) to develop post and to seek peer support.

Administration

• Attend regular 1:1’s, appraisal goal setting and objective planning with managing Dietitian/Speech and Language Therapist, completing relevant paperwork, including competencies.
• To keep accurate patient records at ward and department level in line with the Trust Record Keeping policy.
• To assist the Dietitians and SLTs in the administrative and computing tasks not requiring their expertise, including making resources.
• Assist the Dietitians and Speech and Language therapists with data collection for audit/research projects.
• Collect relevant biochemistry and other documentation as required by the Dietitian.
• To plan, manage and be able to prioritise workload.
• Attend and participate in departmental meetings.
• To participate in departmental projects as appropriate.

Further Information and General Responsibilities

• To have responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of self and others and to comply at all times with the requirements of health and safety regulations.
• To ensure confidentiality at all times, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity.
• To comply with all Epsom and St Helier policies and procedures.
• To comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
• To attend any mandatory training and induction courses as advised by management.
• To report all clinical and non-clinical incidents or near misses promptly.
• To report all complaints to the Dietetic and SLT acute team lead and to co-operate with any investigations undertaken.
• To undertake any other duties suitable for the role as requested by the Dietetic and SLT acute team lead.