Nutrition & Dietetics

Introduction

Nutrition and dietetics is the professional study of nutrition and how it applies medically to health and disease. Here at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust our dietitians work with patients with acute and chronic illnesses within our hospitals. They use dietary manipulation and food to treat disease and optimise health.

Dietetic professionals are called dietitians and the Health Professions Council UK regulates them. Unlike nutritionists, dietitians must be qualified in their field as a registered HPC and this title is legally protected within the medical profession. Nutritionists or nutritional therapist may offer advice on diet or nutrition however any training or professional practice that they have may be unregulated.

Dietitians have many important roles in health care and provide services both in acute and primary care settings.

Our department works closely with other specialties to provide comprehensive care to patients suffering with illnesses such as, diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal illnesses, eating disorders and cancer. We also carry out extensive work with the children’s centre to enable healthier eating and cooking skills.

Dietitians provide:

• Nutritional support; which means using normal food with extra calories and nutrients added or specialist nutrition products to supplement or replace normal food and drinks in certain malnourished patients. Some of these patients may require feeding tubes known as Nasogastric tubes (short term) or Gastrostomy tubes (long term) where the ability to swallow has been impaired or lost and it is necessary to provide nutrition is by these artificial methods. Some patients with very complicated medical conditions may require specialist feeding directly into their veins known as parenteral nutrition and the Dietician will assist the pharmacist and doctors in assessing the patient’s requirements for this type of feeding. If we ensure a patient is fed properly, it can improve recovery rates, reduce the chance of further complications and reduce a patient’s length of hospital stay.
  


• Therapeutic diets: some patients receive medical or surgical help with their conditions, but some have conditions that can also benefit from special diets. Eating more of or the avoidance of certain foods can help to control a patient’s symptoms. In some cases, by careful monitoring of what a patient eats or drinks, the Dietitian can help to reduce the chances of long term complications and improve the patient’s quality of life.
  


• Advice on nutritional issues to the following groups and committees: Nutrition strategy Group, Corporate Nutrition Standards.
  


• Education: the department has a substantial commitment to educating other health professionals through the provision of regular nutrition related sessions and training of Hospital staff in screening for malnutrition. The Dietitians’ Board of the Health Professions Council (HPC) has approved the department as a base trainer for student Dietitians.

What information about nutrition and dietetics is available for patients?

The department publishes a number of useful leaflets and sheets which will be offered to you or can be requested from your Dietitian as is appropriate to your care. It also has access to information published by other organisations. If you have other communication requirements, please let our staff know.

Which wards of the hospital receive dietetic services?

Every ward has an allocated Dietitian responsible for all dietetic services to that area.

If I am referred to a Dietitian as an inpatient, how long will I have to wait to be seen?

Once referred to a Dietitian by a member of the ward staff, we aim to see you within 24 hours of the referral being made.

How will I recognise my Dietitian when they arrive on the ward?

All of the qualified Dietitians wear black or navy trousers or skirts and a White tunic with a light blue stripe on the collar and sleeves. The tunic will also have our light blue nutrition and dietetics logo on it and will say Dietitian. A staff ID badge is worn at all times and the Dietitians will introduce themselves.