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Nutrition and Dietetic  Service

Different food for cooking
About us

The service comprises of dietitians, dietetic assistant practitioners, a nutrition support nurse and administrative staff which are split into 3 broad teams; acute adults, community adults and paediatrics (see further information below).

 

Dietitians are qualified and regulated health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems at an individual and wider public-health level. They use the most up-to-date public health and scientific research on food, health and disease which they translate into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.

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Registered Dietitians are the only qualified health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat diet and nutrition problems at an individual and wider public health level.  All dietitians are registered and regulated by the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC).

They work with healthy and sick people in a variety of settings, including the food industry, healthcare, workplaces, catering, education, sport and the media.

In the NHS they often work as integral members of multi-disciplinary teams to treat complex clinical conditions such as diabetes, food allergy and intolerance, IBS syndrome, eating disorders, chronic fatigue, malnutrition, kidney failure and bowel disorders. They advise and influence food and health policy across the spectrum from government to local communities and individuals.

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Dietitians are regulated by the HCPC (health and care professions council) and must meet all the standards of proficiency which can be found at (Link to: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/dietitians/)

The Nutrition and Dietetics Team
Nutrition and Dietetics Team

Photos: Trevor Smith Photography

For more information on each specialism, click below:

Specialisms

​Referrals

  • Inpatient referrals

  • Inpatient at CRH are sent electronically by using a nutrition and dietetic referral form.

  • Outpatient referrals

  • To access this service as an outpatient, patients must be referred by a registered healthcare workers, such as, a GPs, a community or care home nurse. This can be done by completing a written referral, received via email or posted.

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What we do 
Bran flakes, blueberries and raspberries

Our Nutrition and Dietetic service offers patient assessment, care planning and provision of advice for many different diagnoses and conditions. We liaise with a wide range of other health and social car professionals including GPs, consultants, nurses, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, health visitors, and social workers. We also liaise with schools and family members and carers.  Dietetic consultations may be face to face, via telephone or Attend Anywhere (video) consultations. We deliver training sessions for a wide range of staff including doctors and nurses on a variety of nutrition and dietetic topics.

We use SystmOne which is an Electronic Patient Record to document dietetic care and assessments. We produce a majority of our diet sheets and written resources ‘in-house’ but some are sourced externally.

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  • Students can expect to see a broad range of medical conditions, dietary advice and care settings for adults and children. On your placement you may be involved with any of the following areas:

  • Oral nutrition support (for individuals with a MUST score of 2 or more)

  • Weight Management

  • Diabetes (type 1 and 2)

  • Gastrointestinal problems (such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Coeliac disease, Diverticular disease)

  • Pancreatitis - acute and chronic

  • Liver disease

  • Renal disease

  • Abnormal lipids

  • Healthy Eating

  • Vitamin or Mineral deficiencies

  • Food allergies or intolerances

  • Artificial nutrition support 

  • Eating disorders

  • Feeding difficulties in children

  • Faltering Growth in children

  • Cystic Fibrosis

Where we work:

Inpatient wards

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  • At Chesterfield Royal Hospital

  • At community hospitals

  • In hospices 

  • Patients own homes

  • Care homes

  • Schools

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Outpatient Clinics

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  • At Chesterfield Royal Hospital

  • Community Clinics

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Chesterfield Royal Hospital entrance

Photos: Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Student Health and Wellbeing

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Your placement is a learning and development opportunity. It is important to always consider your health and wellbeing on placement and be open and honest and speak up if you are struggling or feel you need more support, in line with HCPC standards. During your placement you will be offered regular meetings with your mentor, and you will meet your training lead on a weekly basis. Your university will also be able to provide health and wellbeing support and you will have a university placement tutor during your placement.

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Glossary of terms

Student Training Lead – You will be allocated 1-2 dietitians in the department who will support you throughout your placement. They will meet with you each week, for an end of week review and will:

  • Organise your placement timetable

  • Complete your induction

  • Support you to develop your evidence portfolio

  • Sign off your learning outcomes

  • Liaise with the university.

 

Practice Educator – During your placement you will be allocated time with different dietitians. Your programme will be split into different sessions each allocated to a practice educator. They will:

  • Support you day to day

  • Provide ongoing feedback

  • Sign off evidence from each half or full day session you spend with them.

 

Mentor – A mentor is someone able to provide confidential support to students whilst on placement, you will be allocated a mentor at the start of your placement and have the option to meet with them during the placement. The role of the mentor is to act as a guide, supporter and sounding board, and to help you build self-confidence, initiative and resilience during your placement. Mentors are not directly involved in the training or assessment of the student.

University placement tutor – You will be allocated a member of staff from the university who you may meet with during your placement to review your progress. You can contact this member of staff before and during your placement should you need to.

Job Vacancies 

​Most Job vacancies will be advertised nationally on NHS jobs and can be found on the NHS trust website.

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