Meet the Teams

Inpatient Team

The service is provided by dietitians, with access to a nutrition nurse and a dietetic assistant.

 

We support patients at Moseley Hall Hospital and West Heath Hospital, who have a Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score of 2 or more and require oral nutrition support. We also support patients with enteral tube feeding or those who require dietary advice specific to their clinical needs.

 

Dietitians will work with ward and catering staff to ensure meals meet the patients needs. 

 

A care plan may be provided when patients leave the hospital, and a referral can be made to local Dietitians where necessary.

 

INRU Team

The Inpatient Neurological Rehabilitation Unit (INRU) dietetic service is provided by specialist dietitians, with access to a nutrition nurse and a dietetic assistant.

 

All patients on INRU are assessed by the dietitians and provided with individualsed, evidence-based nutrition plans.

 

Dietitians sit amongst a wide team of healthcare professionals, contributing towards patient’s holistic care and goal setting.

 

A care plan may be provided when patients leave the hospital, and a referral can be made to local Dietitians where necessary.

 

Training

Training on MUST, ward-based nutrition care, tube care and management is available for all ward staff where relevant.

 

Dietitians will also provide training for other healthcare professionals, dietetic students and new staff as required.

 

Nutrition Nurse

The service is provided by a nutrition nurse for patients receiving enteral tube feeding at Moseley Hall Hospital and West Heath Hospital. The nutrition nurse will also carry out assessments alongside dietitians for patients who may go on to require enteral tube feeding during their admission.

 

Training is provided for nursing staff, healthcare professionals, patients, families and other agencies on tube care and feeding methods. Training aims to optimise ward based care and facilitate safe discharge into the community.

The nutrition support team supports people who are who are malnourished or at risk of becoming malnourished (undernourished) due to disease. Alongside the nutrition nurses, we support those who require tube feeding to meet their nutritional needs.
 

The service consists of dietitians, nutrition nurses, dietetic assistants and administration staff, and provide a range of services, including:

• Clinics -  for patients, able to access a local clinic. 
• Patients Own Homes –  home visits for bedbound patients, on oxygen or require GP visits at home.
• Care Homes – support for patients receiving nutritional support in care homes and training for nursing staff.
• Home Enteral Feeding (tube feeding) - coordinating this service across Birmingham.
• Nutrition Nurses - supporting patients receiving nutritional support in the community, as well as supporting dietetic colleagues and providing training for nursing staff and relatives/other agencies. Training is done on a team/patient specific basis and monthly training sessions across Birmingham. The nurses also work with various hospitals to help in the discharge of patients receiving tube feeding and undertake pre-feeding tube assessments in the community.

 

For details of how to refer a patient for Nutrition Support, see the referrals section.
 

To view various guidelines related to Nutrition Support see our resources page.

Nutrition Support Services information leaflet

 

 

Nutrition Support Team Training

Training sessions are often provided by the Nutrition Support Service as part of an established course or training programme, such as the importance of nutrition in wound healing; nutrition and hydration of patients in the Community Hospitals; and nutrition and its role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as part of a rehabilitation programme.

 

Training can also be provided on an ad-hoc basis where appropriate. Please contact the Nutrition Support Service at Gee Business Centre, Tel: 0121 683 2300

The prescribing support team work with GPs and in the community to support the appropriate use of oral nutritional support supplements. The team consists of dietitians, dietetic assistants and administration staff.

 

We also carry out training in care homes on food first information to promote the nutritional health of residents and appropriate use of nutritional supplements.

 

We support the local area with the nutrition section of the formulary.

 

The Paediatric team comprise of Registered Dietitians and a Nutrition Nurse who provide dietary advice to children across Birmingham with nutritional problems. Paediatric dietitians are specially trained to provide specialist nutritional care and promote healthy eating to infants, children, adolescents and their families. Dietitians interpret the complexities of disease management into practical and understandable dietary treatment for children, families and carers to follow on a day to day basis. This includes children struggling to gain weight, managing food allergies, severely restricted diets and those who require home enteral feeding (tube feeding) managed in the community.

 

The Children's Nutrition Nurse closely supports all children's nurses, Dietitians and carers in order to prevent and treat tube-related complications.

 

The Paediatric team work closely with other multidisciplinary services including Paediatricians, Community Children’s Nurses, Health Visitors, School Nurses, Speech and Language Therapists and other professionals who may be involved in the child's care. The team also work closely with local hospital Dietitians to share information if the child is admitted to hospital.

 

Referring to the paediatric team

To make a referral to the team please see the referral criteria and forms.

 

 

Paediatric team appointments

Appointments with a Paediatric dietitian or dietetic assistant practitioner are available to families in a number of settings across Birmingham, all our clinics are fully accessible:

• General clinics held in health centers and child development centers. We aim to offer an appointment at the closest location to the family home, however where an urgent appointment is required this may be offered at another location. 
• Special school clinics are held at a number of special schools and appointments are available for children attending that school. 
• Home visits are offered to families who find attending a clinic location difficult or when additional time is required. 
• Specialist workshops are available for infants with cow's milk protein allergies and children with sensory feeding difficulties.

 

Appointments are 20-30 minutes in duration during which time the family/carer  will agree a treatment plan with the Dietitian, including specific goals. A follow up appointment may then be offered to support the family/carer.  A letter summarising the first and last consultation and any changes made to the child's treatment will be sent to the referrer. 

 

The majority of clinic appointments are attended however if you cannot make your appointment  please do let us know on: 0121 683 2300. This is so that the appointment can be offered to those waiting to see a Dietitian. Please note if an appointment is missed without notifying us first, the child may be discharged.

 

Links and resources

The Primary Care Service aims to prevent and treat diet-related conditions by working with patients, carers and other health professionals at health centres and clinics across Birmingham.  The service supports individuals with a wide range of conditions. 

 

 

Referral Information 

To refer to the Primary Care Service  please use our referral form. The Primary Care Service currently accepts referrals from GPs and other Health Professionals. We require as much detail as possible to allow us to process the referral appropriately. The form can be faxed or emailed, for further information please contact us. 

Referral information

Telephone: 0121 683 2300
Fax: 0121 615 2908
Email: referrals.nutrition@nhs.net

 

 

The primary care service includes the following teams: 

General Dietetic Clinics 

We support and treat people with a range of conditions, from irritable bowel syndrome, heart health and malnutrition. We run a number of clinics in health centers across the city.  Patients may be seen here first then referred onto one of our specialist services.

 

Patient information leaflet

Gastroenterology Nutrition Team

Within our specialist gastroenterology clinic, we welcome patients who have gastrointestinal conditions who are experiencing symptoms such as bloating, pain, diarrhoea, constipation or dyspepsia / reflux. We can support patients to understand their condition and manage their symptoms as best as they can through diet and lifestyle changes. We can see patients in person at a variety of clinic locations in Birmingham, or we can offer virtual appointments.

 

The types of conditions we see include:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (support with a low FODMAP approach is available)
• Diverticular disease
• Food intolerance (for example, wheat or lactose intolerance)
• Coeliac disease
• Gastro-oesophageal reflux disorder (GORD)
• Dyspepsia / reflux

 

 

Maternal Health 

We run regular clinics at Birmingham Women's Hospital for those having their care here. We may also see people who meet our referral criteria in our general clinics if having their care at another hospital. 

Maternal resources.

 

 

Specialist Diabetes Service 

Alongside Birmingham Community Nutrition, the Diabetes Specialist service supports individuals diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes in the community setting. It is a multidisciplinary service which involves consultant diabetologists, specialist nurses and specialist dietitians. The service provides several levels of support to include clinics and group education.  

Please refer to this page for more information:

Diabetes Service page 

 

 

Specialist Weight Management Service

Our specialist weight management service is a multidisciplinary team that support people to lose weight. 

 

 

 

 

 

Startwell is an obesity prevention programme targeting early years settings across Birmingham.

 

These early years settings include children’s centres, day nurseries, nursery schools and pre-school play groups. The programme is based around 8 key messages. It supports settings to improve healthy eating and physical development through creating a healthier environment for children and families, whilst also enabling them to achieve the Startwell award. Startwell is designed to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of early years professionals.

 

Startwell achieves this by providing settings with nutrition any physical development support specific to their individual needs. Core elements of this support include:

• Free centralised training to improve knowledge, skills and understanding of key healthy eating messages for children and families
•  Training on how to effectively communicate and promote key healthy eating messages to children and families using a variety of activities which can be applied in settings.
• Supporting settings to produce an action plan to improve their healthy eating and physical practices, as well as providing ongoing support to help settings to embed these in all aspects of their setting.
• Individualised nutrition support from a Nutritionist to assist in the development of balanced and nutritious menus that meets national recommendations and the nutrition requirements of the children.       
•  The Startwell website has lots of supporting information for parents and staff, including recipes, fact sheets, activity ideas and planning, displays and newsletter templates, case studies and signposting to further resources        
    

If you would like more information Startwell programme please contact Startwell at Gee Business Centre or on 0121 683 2303 or log onto the Startwell website  www.startwellbirmingham.co.uk

 

If your after healthy family recipes that have been developed by us please follow the link to our recipe page: http://startwellbirmingham.co.uk/parents/recipe-ideas/

 

Why not sign up on the Startwell website and receive regular updates about early years healthy eating and physical activity.