Specialist Dietitian - Frailty and Malnutrition ServiceNHS

Job summary

Primary Care Dietitians Ltd is looking for a Specialist Dietitian to lead a new, autonomous 12-month pilot service tackling malnutrition and frailty across North Staffordshire. This is a rare opportunity to help shape a service from the ground up, working directly with care homes and community patients using evidence-based GLIM criteria and food-first principles.

You will have clinical autonomy, a strong focus on measurable outcomes, and the chance to influence future commissioning decisions through the data and case studies you help build. We invest in your development too - fully sponsored attendance at ESPEN Congress, regular clinical supervision, and access to our national dietitian network for peer support.

This is a 0.6 WTE, fixed-term role (12 months), working across North Staffordshire care homes and community settings. This is a hybrid role, allowing you to work both on-site and remotely.

Please note: appointment to this role is subject to completion of an ongoing internal redeployment process.

Main duties of the job

As Specialist Dietitian, you will:

• Carry out autonomous specialist assessments and diagnose malnutrition using GLIM criteria
• Develop and lead individualised, food-first care plans, using oral nutritional supplements only where clinically indicated
• Manage a mixed caseload of care home residents and community patients with frailty and complex nutritional needs
• Deliver a hybrid mix of regular care home visits and remote consultations
• Provide day-to-day clinical supervision and oversight to the service's Nutrition Assistant
• Collect and report outcome data to demonstrate the pilot's impact and help inform future commissioning
• Deliver training to care home and PCN staff on malnutrition screening and food-first approaches

You will need a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, as regular travel across North Staffordshire is required.

Job description

Please note: appointment to this role is subject to completion of an ongoing internal redeployment process.

Role Purpose

This is an autonomous specialist dietitian role within a 12-month pilot service delivering evidence-based malnutrition and frailty care to adults in care homes and community settings across North Staffordshire.

You will lead the clinical delivery of the service, working to GLIM (Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition) diagnostic criteria, NICE guidance, and food-first principles. Oral nutritional supplements are used appropriately as one component of a comprehensive nutritional care pathway, with clear initiation criteria, time-limited prescribing, and structured review.

The role requires a high degree of clinical autonomy, sound professional judgement, and a strong focus on measurable outcomes. You will be responsible for demonstrating service impact through robust data collection and contributing to evaluation that will inform future commissioning decisions.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Assessment and Management

• Deliver autonomous, specialist dietetic assessments for adults with malnutrition and frailty in care homes and community settings
• Apply GLIM criteria to diagnose malnutrition and determine severity, ensuring standardised and evidence-based practice
• Develop individualised nutrition care plans prioritising food-first interventions, with ONS prescribed only where clinically indicated
• Make independent clinical decisions on ONS initiation, continuation, step-down, and discontinuation based on patient response and clinical need
• Conduct functional assessments including handgrip dynamometry to monitor muscle status and track outcomes
• Assess and manage patients with nutrition-related pressure ulcers and wounds, coordinating with tissue viability services where appropriate
• Manage a mixed caseload including care home residents and free-living adults with long-term conditions at nutritional risk

Service Delivery and Working Pattern

• Deliver care through a hybrid model: approximately 60% remote (video and telephone consultations) and 40% face-to-face
• Conduct regular weekly visits to care homes within the PCN footprint for complex assessments and high-risk residents
• Provide timely access to the service, working towards a target of less than two weeks from referral to first contact
• Maintain flexibility to adjust working patterns to meet service needs and patient requirements

Supervision and Team Working

• Provide day-to-day clinical supervision and support to the Nutrition Assistant
• Review and prioritise referrals, delegating appropriate tasks while maintaining clinical oversight
• Work collaboratively within the MDT including GPs, practice nurses, community nursing teams, and hospital discharge services
• Build effective relationships with care home staff and support their development in nutrition screening and food-first approaches

Data, Outcomes and Service Evaluation

• Maintain accurate, contemporaneous clinical records in line with professional and organisational standards
• Collect and report outcome data including GLIM status, weight trajectories, functional measures, wound healing progress, and ONS utilisation
• Contribute to quarterly service reporting and pilot evaluation
• Develop anonymised case studies demonstrating clinical and service impact
• Support the generation of evidence to inform future commissioning and service sustainability

Training and Education

• Deliver MUST screening training and food-first education to care home staff
• Provide education sessions for PCN and practice staff on malnutrition identification and appropriate referral
• Contribute to the development of patient and staff resources

Reporting and Governance

• Reports operationally and clinically to the PCD Clinical Lead
• Participates in monthly clinical supervision and case review
• Works within PCD's clinical governance framework including incident reporting, safeguarding, and professional standards
• Maintains HCPC registration and adheres to professional codes of conduct
• Contributes to service audits and quality improvement initiatives

Working Pattern and Travel

This role is 0.6 WTE (22.5 hours per week). The working pattern will be agreed with the successful candidate but must include capacity for regular weekly care home visits within North Staffordshire.

Travel across the region is required. You must hold a full UK driving licence and have access to a vehicle for work purposes.

Person Specification

Essential

• HCPC registered Dietitian
• Degree or postgraduate diploma in Dietetics
• Minimum 3 years post-registration clinical experience
• Demonstrable experience in community, primary care, or care home dietetics
• Strong clinical reasoning and autonomous decision-making skills
• Knowledge of malnutrition screening (MUST), assessment, and management
• Understanding of evidence-based ONS prescribing principles and food-first approaches
• Experience of outcome measurement and data collection in clinical practice
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to build effective relationships with patients, carers, and multidisciplinary colleagues
• Competent in the use of clinical IT systems and video consultation platforms
• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle

Desirable

• Experience applying GLIM criteria for malnutrition diagnosis
• Experience in frailty, older adult, or care home nutrition
• Knowledge of wound care nutrition and pressure ulcer management
• Experience supervising junior staff or support workers
• Experience with service evaluation, audit, or quality improvement
• Training or teaching delivery experience
• Familiarity with EMIS or SystmOne clinical systems

About Primary Care Dietitians

Primary Care Dietitians is England's only national independent specialist PCN dietitian provider. We support NHS Primary Care Networks and GP practices to deliver high-quality, tech-enabled dietetic services.

What We Offer

• Flexible working arrangements
• Monthly clinical supervision from experienced clinical lead
• Access to PCD's national network of dietitians for peer support and best practice sharing
• Attendance at ESPEN Congress (European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism) fully sponsored - a significant professional development opportunity
• Opportunity to shape and evaluate an innovative pilot service with potential for future commissioning

General Terms

This role profile is not exhaustive. You may be directed to complete other reasonable tasks within the expectations of your position.

All Primary Care Dietitians staff are expected to:

• Ensure conduct meets the standards detailed in Primary Care Dietitians' Code of Conduct
• Safeguard children and adults, acting on any concerns to ensure appropriate assessment and investigation
• Adhere to all Primary Care Dietitians policies and procedures

About us

Primary Care Dietitians Ltd is England's only national independent specialist PCN dietitian provider, supporting over 300 GP practices and Primary Care Networks across the country to deliver high-quality, tech-enabled dietetic services.

We're a growing, supportive organisation of experienced clinicians who genuinely enjoy working together. You'll have access to a national peer network of dietitians, regular clinical supervision, and structured career development through Health Education England's Roadmap to Practice.

Benefits include flexible working and fully sponsored attendance at ESPEN Congress (European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism) - a rare professional development opportunity to have this early in a pilot role.

We're proud of the culture we've built: clinically led, evidence-based, and genuinely invested in giving our dietitians the autonomy and support to do their best work.