Nutrition & Dietetics
Nutrition is essential for the maintenance of good health and vital in the treatment of many diseases such as diabetes, cancer, coeliac disease, renal disease and inflammatory bowel disease. It can also play a vital role in the clinical outcome of your hospital treatment.
Our nutrition and dietetics team deliver flexible,
evidence-based nutritional care to patients on an individual basis.
We provide support to the general medical and surgical,
gynaecology, orthopaedic and elderly wards. We operate a number of
outpatient clinics every week, an out of working hours weight
management group once every fortnight, and are regularly involved
in the training of ward staff about the importance of nutrition and
how we can work together to improve the nutritional status of our
patients. We also deliver group education sessions to cardiac and
pulmonary rehabilitation and diabetes patients.
Acute stroke unit
Stroke specialist dietitians work on the aucte stroke unit and
rehabilitation unit and play a key role in ensuring adequate
nutrition for patients, as swallowing difficulties can develop
following a stroke. Nutrition support will be provided to
those who may be unable to take food or drink orally for a period
of time and extra snacks or nutritional supplements maybe
prescribed to help meet their nutritional needs. We aim to
optimise nutritional intake, which in turn will help the patients
recovery. Education is also an important part of our
role. We provide information to patients and their families
with regards to enhancing nutritional intake at home, healthy
eating, lowering cholesterol, weight reduciton and diabetes
advice.
Diabetes
Our diabetes specialist dietitians hold dietitian-led diabetes
clinics on a weekly basis, and dietitian-led group
carbohydrate counting and insulin adjustment sessions throughout
the year. A dietitian is also present at the weekly gestational
diabetes clinic and consultant led multi-disciplinary diabetes
clinic. Our diabetes specialist dietitians work closely with the
diabetes specialist nurses and the diabetes team.
Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating (DAFNE)
This is a structured education programme for patients with type
1 diabetes. Patients are taught how to match their insulin dose to
their chosen food intake on a meal by meal basis.
Nephrology (renal medicine)
Our renal specialist dietitian works closely with a team of
nephrologists, pharmacists, nurses and renographers. Patients with
kidney disease can be provided with advice on the wards, in the
renal unit and in consultant-led clinics.
Nutrition support team
Our nutrition supports team consists of a nutrition support
specialist dietitian, a nutrition nurse and a pharmacist and
receives medical support from gastroenterologists. The nutrition
support specialist dietitian assesses and reviews patients in
critical care on a daily basis. Patients receiving parenteral
nutrition (whether in critical care or on any other ward)
are reviewed daily by the nutrition support team.
Oncology (cancer services)
Our oncology team comprises of two specialist dietitian and a
dietetic assistant. They apply a knowledge of
biochemisty, a knowledge of the side effects of drugs and other
treatments for cancer, and of the symptoms of cancer itself to
achieve the optimal nutrition status for each patient. The
treatment and nutritional advice given is holistic and may include
dietary change, the prescription of nutrition supplements and/or
gastrostomy feeding or recommendations for the prescription of
medicines to alleviate symptoms. As part of the oncology
service, counselling may be provided for you, your family or
carer if required.
Paediatrics
Our two paediatric specialist dietitians provide cover to
Neptune ward, the neonatal unit and a variety of
consultant-led clinics which include diabetes, cystic
fibrosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and
gastroenterology. Referrals for children are only accepted
from consultants at the hospital and their teams.
Children may also be seen in the paediatric specialist
dietitian-led outpatient clinics. Children seen in these clinics
may be referred for treatment of conditions such as multiple food
allergies, fussy eating, gastroenterology and failure to
thrive.
A telephone review service is provided for support of all
paediatric patients and treatment is individually tailored.
Contact us
Nutrition & dietetics
team: 01702
385331
Email: nutrition.dietetics@southend.nhs.uk