Dietetic Assistant - Community

Ann-Marie Ward,
Andrew Jones,

Mid Yorkshire NHS Teaching Trust has been awarded new funding to implement and provide a dietetic-led Off‑FP10 service for enteral (HEF) and oral nutritional support (ONS) across Wakefield Place. Working in partnership with Wakefield Health and Care Partnership and the IC, this service will ensure all patients requiring nutritional support are referred to and reviewed/monitored by the dietetic team. This new development will provide a patient‑centred, needs‑based service, which will allow seamless and more timely care for community patients who may require nutritional support intervention.

The aim of the new service is to stop inappropriate prescribing of ONS (in line with NHS England intentions), ensure all patients receive timely and appropriate dietetic intervention and provide regular and ongoing training to all care homes across Wakefield Place. The service also aims to reduce health inequalities by ensuring improved access to dietetic support for all patients, regardless of location.

The service has been commissioned on a permanent basis, so we are looking to recruit into all areas including qualified dietitians, dietetic assistants and a new admin team. These exciting new posts will support the band 7 in implementation of the service, while maintaining their own clinical caseloads. They will be part of a team that also includes band 5s, band 3s and admin.

There is 1 full‑time band 3 dietetic assistant vacancy available. The post‑holders will work across Wakefield Place, providing support and assistance to the specialist dietetic service for patients with nutritional support needs, both in their own homes and in care homes. This may be through face‑to‑face contacts or telehealth and may include presentations to care‑home staff. The initial work will be to scope ONS prescribing across Wakefield, stopping or amending inappropriate prescriptions, as required.

The post‑holders will be based in Wakefield Community but may be required to attend meetings at one of the three hospital sites in Wakefield (Pinderfields), Dewsbury and Pontefract. The post‑holders may also work remotely for part of the week.

The dietetic department is fully committed to CPD and clinical supervision. As we take A, B and C students from Leeds Beckett University, the post holders will also be expected to take an active role in supporting and supervising our student training programme.

When applying for these posts it is essential that you read the job description and person specification. Use the "supporting information" space on the application form to demonstrate how your skills, knowledge and previous experience meet the job description requirements.

It is essential that you are able to attend any location required of you, including patient’s homes, therefore having a driving licence with access to a vehicle to support home visits is essential.

For further information please contact Ann‑Marie Ward, Clinical Lead Dietitian, or Andrew Jones, Off‑FP10 Lead.

• Act as a focal point for the clinical team.
• Provide a friendly and professional service; deal with enquiries from a multitude of sources following Trust policies and standard operating procedures.
• Liaise with GPs, other hospitals, patients, internal medical/non‑medical staff and medical/non‑medical external staff by a variety of means i.e. face to face, phone, e‑mail or letter on a daily basis.
• Work alongside the Dietitians in visiting patients in their own homes or speaking on the telephone; this may include joint visits or visiting alone to review and follow up patients who are on the clinical caseload. This may also include liaising with other professionals, family or carers to ensure that the optimal plan is in place.
• Work alongside the Dietitian in reviewing patient’s supplement prescriptions and ensuring the smooth roll‑out of working in an Off‑FP10 model. This will include liaising with the feed companies and using IT systems to set up and amend prescriptions for patients on the caseload.
• Assist clinicians with administrative tasks, e.g. utilising IT systems or ensuring forms are completed and sent to relevant…