Specialist Dietitian – Head and Neck cancer

Specialist Dietitian – Head and Neck cancer Band 6

Main area

Dietetics/Speech and Language Therapy

Grade

Band 6

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref

188-OTH3364

Site

Southampton General Hospital

Town

Southampton

Salary

£33,706 - £40,588 pa

Salary period

Yearly

Closing

01/02/2023 23:59

Interview date

13/02/2023

Job overview

Do you want to work in a fast-paced, dynamic team covering complex head and neck oncology? We have the job for you! We have a vacancy for a Band 6 Dietitian, specialising in head and neck cancer, to join our acute adult oncology dietetic team at Southampton General Hospital. This post covers a variety of settings including acute oncology wards, head and neck surgical ward, head and neck clinic, radiotherapy and outpatient clinics.

The department of dietetics and speech and language therapy employs approximately 130 staff, with clinical experts working in a range of specialties, providing acute and community services in adults and paediatrics.

Our Oncology unit is one of 12 regional cancer centres in the UK, serving a population of around 1.7million people. We have a large radiotherapy unit containing 6 linear accelerators, 6 oncology inpatient wards, acute oncology unit, chemotherapy units, Macmillan and Maggie's centre and multiple oncology outpatient clinics. Southampton is a leading centre for cancer research and clinical trials.

Main duties of the job

Attached you will find the person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting.

For an overview of the main duties of the role please see the ‘Job Description and Main Responsibilities' section below. To understand the day-to-day responsibilities in more detail please read the full job description document attached.

Working for our organisation What we can offer you

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good' by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.

All non-clinical roles may involve a mixture of on site and remote working, Specific details and flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 20% lower than London and 14 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities Your Responsibilities What you'll do

Be responsible for the specialist provision of a dietetic service to head and neck cancer patients undergoing multiple modality oncology treatment.

Work in a variety of clinical settings including acute surgical wards, acute oncology wards, radiotherapy clinic, chemotherapy outpatients and head and neck multidisciplinary clinic.

Provide complex nutritional support to patients with Head and Neck cancer including management of enteral feeding, complex home enteral feeding discharges, and nutritional management of radiotherapy/chemotherapy related side effects.

Work with an experienced team of oncology dietitians covering upper GI, head and neck, haematology, teenage young adults, gynaecology, chemotherapy and general oncology patients.

Be a key member of the multidisciplinary teams working closely with head and neck surgeons and oncologists, advanced nurse practitioners, speech and language therapists, advanced radiographers and ward nurses. You will also be required to liaise closely with members of the head and neck oncology teams at other hospitals.

Provide educational talks on the importance of nutrition in oncology to inform patients, nurses and doctors.

Be involved with the supervision and support of dietitians, dietetic assistants and student dietitians.

What we're looking for

We are looking for someone who has a keen interest in oncology, with evidence of relevant, strong clinical skills. Flexibility, ability to prioritise and manage a busy, complex caseload is essential. You must have excellent communication skills as well as an empathic nature to help patients manage their long term condition and be aware of the psychological impact this may have. You should have experience of working with complex nutritional support patients requiring enteral nutrition in both acute and outpatient settings.

Additional information

Interviews will be held on Monday, 13th February 2023

Should you have any queries, please use the contact details below to get in touch.

Person specification Qualifications / training required Essential criteria

Degree or equivalent in Nutrition & Dietetics

Registration (RD) with HCPC as a dietitian

Evidence of commitment to relevant ongoing CPD and training and development in relevant areas

Desirable criteria

Member of BDA and relevant specialist groups

PENG course (BDA) or similar nutrition support course

Clinical supervisory skills course

Previous or relevant experience necessary Essential criteria

Evidence of relevant dietetic knowledge and expertise; must have recent experience working as a dietitian demonstrating this

Experience of teaching/presentations and public speaking

Experience of multi-professional team working

IT and Keyboard skills e.g. Microsoft Word, dietary analysis

Experience and involvement with dietetic student training

Experience of audit / project work

Desirable criteria

Evidence of clinical experience in nutrition support

Experience mentoring or supervising dietetic assistants or junior staff

Aptitudes and skills required Essential criteria

Ability to communicate complex information fluently, confidently and effectively to a diverse range of people: e.g., with patients, carers, managers, other health care professionals and senior medical staff within UHS

Ability to demonstrate a practical and sensitive approach and flexibility in working style when applying clinical judgement to complex clinical issues e.g. ethical issues

Ability to create rapport and professionally manage relationships with patients and the emotional challenges this presents

Works well alone as well as part of a team

Ability to have a holistic approach to treatment

Ability to cope with unpredictable events and varying clinical and non- clinical work pressures; independently plan and prioritise own workload; manages own time and meets deadlines

High standard of literacy and numeracy

Excellent oral and written communication skills

Special requirements of the post Essential criteria

Ability to cover “out of hours” commitments on agreed occasions

Values and behaviours Essential criteria

Patients First

Always Improving

Working Together

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications. We will not accept any applications or queries via agencies, under any circumstances.

For more information about our Trust

Head to our careers portal thinkuhs.co.uk where you'll find information about:

- Our values and vision - Our services and teams - Benefits we offer our staff - UK professional body registration - Information about our city - Relocating to Southampton - Our fantastic staff and their work

To find out what our staff think about working here, you may also wish to look at our most recent friends and family test and NHS staff survey results, or our latest CQC report.

Getting to work - our travel promise

Getting to work should be as easy as possible and that's why we have introduced the UHS travel promise – a commitment from the Trust that we will provide reasonable travel options for every member of staff. Every member of staff can apply for a permit to use our park & ride facility. Eligibility for on-site parking is dependent on the nature and requirement of the role. All staff can also access a range of discounted benefits relating to travel including reduced price bus tickets, purchase of salary sacrifice bikes and ultra-low emission cars.

Our commitment to equality

Equality remains at the centre of our policymaking, service delivery, and employment practice, giving all employees equal opportunity to develop, apply for promotions, and have working arrangements that enable them to achieve a manageable work-life balance.

UHS actively promotes a work environment free from harassment and discrimination and provides training for managers and staff to ensure this happens. We also closely monitor recruitment activity, training, development, and employment practices to ensure equality of practice with regard to race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and age.

How and why we use your information

The Trust is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you have provided on this form for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes.

The European General Data Protection Regulations enhances individuals' rights and safeguards all of their data in place under the DPA. Please click here to see how and why we store your information.

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Employer certification / accreditation badges Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Job Description (PDF, 446.6KB)

Personal Specification (PDF, 200.7KB)

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Lynsey Clode

Job title

Oncology Team Lead Dietitian

Email address

[email protected]

Telephone number

023 8120 6072

If you have problems applying, contact

Address

 If you have problems with the

online application form please contact Recruitment Support Services Open Monday to Friday 08:30am to 5:30pm

Telephone

 01629 690826