Dietetics

Our team

We are a small team of dietitians who are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Our team is made up of two dieticians and a dietetic assistant.

Our mission statement is to ensure the delivery of high quality nutrition and dietetic care to aid the rehabilitation process.

Nutrition on the wards

Eating and drinking well is important during your hospital stay as good nutrition and hydration will help your recovery. Hospital menus are carefully planned to ensure they are nutritionally balanced and a number of menus are available to suit your needs. Please inform your nurse or ward housekeeper about any dietary needs you may have to ensure they are accommodated.

You may notice changes in your appetite or taste during your time in hospital. This could be related to your injury/surgery or a new medication. If your appetite is poor and you have lost weight you may be at risk of malnutrition and this can increase your risk of skin damage, infections and also reduce your ability to engage with rehabilitation.

The nurses will complete a nutritional screening tool on admission and then weekly, to check if you are at risk of malnutrition. This will include weighing you regularly. As a result of screening it may be that you require a red tray at meal times, highlighting the need for assistance, encouragement and/or monitoring. It will also highlight if a referral to the Dietitians is required.

In order to try and make mealtimes pleasant, we ask that the ward is as quiet and free from disruptions as possible during the meal service.

The role of the dietetic team:

If you are referred to our team, we will complete a nutritional assessment and provide appropriate dietary advice and support. We work closely with you and the ward team to consider strategies that will help to improve your eating and drinking. We will also liaise with relatives and carers where appropriate.

We work with patients if they have a poor appetite or have lost weight during their hospital admission. We promote a ‘Food First’ approach but may also recommend the use of nutritional supplements. Visitors can bring ambient food from home (i.e. food not requiring refrigeration or reheating) if you are struggling with your appetite.
If you have had problems with your swallow during your hospital stay you may have a feeding tube in place. If this is the case we will work closely with Speech and Language Therapy and look to start introducing oral food and fluid if swallowing improves and it is safe.
Being a healthy weight has a positive impact on rehabilitation. If you would like support with weight reduction please discuss with the ward nurses and they can refer to the dietitians. If the team feel your weight is impacting on rehabilitation they may discuss a referral with you.
We also provide advice on diabetes management, a balanced diet and therapeutic diets, and can link in with other dietetic colleagues from the Trust.

Links to other useful dietetic information sources can be found here:

LTHT Dietetic Service Page

British Dietetic Association Website