Role: Primary Care Network Dietitian
Location: Shoreditch Park & City PCN
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £35,946 - £51,532 per year (depending on experience)
Contract: Temporary (3 month)
Please note: Primary Care Dietitians Ltd is currently undertaking an internal redeployment process as part of an ongoing organisational restructure. Any appointment to this role is subject to the completion of that process. Internal candidates at risk of redundancy will be given prior consideration, and this vacancy may be withdrawn or filled internally before external recruitment proceeds.
Role Overview
We are seeking a Primary Care Network (PCN) Dietitian to provide cover within a PCN in Shoreditch Park & City PCN. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of primary care, delivering specialist dietetic services directly within GP practices.
As a PCN Dietitian, you will work as an autonomous clinical practitioner, assessing, diagnosing, treating, and managing patients with dietetic and nutrition-related conditions. You will be a key member of the multidisciplinary team, helping to reduce GP workload and improve patient access to timely, high-quality dietetic care.
Clinical Responsibilities
- Assess, diagnose, triage, and manage a clinical caseload of patients with nutrition-related conditions, including pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, weight management, frailty, and malnutrition
- Provide personalised, evidence-based care plans tailored to each patient's clinical status, lifestyle, preferences, and goals
- Support patients to make sustainable behaviour changes and develop confidence in self-management, reducing reliance on pharmacological interventions where appropriate
- Work with patients who have complex needs, including those with psychosocial factors or mental health considerations
- Refer patients to other services when appropriate, including secondary care, social prescribing, and community support, working within local referral pathways
- Deliver consultations via face-to-face, telephone, and video appointments as required
- Deliver group education sessions where appropriate
Multidisciplinary Team Working
- Build strong working relationships with GPs, practice nurses, clinical pharmacists, social prescribers, and other PCN staff
- Contribute to reducing GP workload by managing dietetic referrals directly and providing specialist input
- Improve patient access to timely dietetic care within the community
- Participate in MDT meetings and case discussions where relevant
Service Development, Audit and Quality
- Support audit, evaluation, and outcome monitoring to demonstrate service impact and identify areas for improvement
- Collect and submit clinical and patient outcome data in line with PCD reporting requirements, contributing to both PCN-level service evaluation and PCD's wider clinical outcomes programme
- Contribute to the development of efficient, streamlined care pathways within primary care
- Identify opportunities to enhance patient experience and clinical effectiveness
- Support the implementation of new initiatives or service developments as required
Professional Development and Governance
- Practise in line with HCPC standards, professional codes of conduct, and organisational policies
- Engage in regular clinical supervision and reflective practice
- Participate in training opportunities, including Stage 1 of NHS England's Roadmap to Practice programme; progression to Stage 2 (First Contact practice) is optional and dependent on individual PCN interest and requirements
- Make use of protected CPD time (4 hours per week pro-rated) to support ongoing learning and career development
- Contribute to clinical governance activities, including incident reporting, risk management, and quality assurance
Leadership and Communication
- Communicate complex and sensitive information clearly and compassionately to patients and carers
- Provide advice and feedback to PCN colleagues on appropriate referral criteria and the scope of dietetic services
- Support a culture of learning and improvement within the wider team
- Act as an ambassador for dietetics within primary care
Key Skills and Attributes
- Strong clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify when onward referral or further investigation is needed
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team
- Ability to deliver personalised, culturally appropriate, and innovative dietetic care tailored to diverse patient populations
- Flexible, adaptable approach to service delivery within a fast-evolving primary care environment
- Ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced primary care environment
- Commitment to reflective practice and ongoing professional development
- Confident using clinical IT systems (e.g. EMIS, SystmOne) and modern ways of working
- Ability to follow legal, ethical, professional, and organisational policies and procedures
Person Specification
Essential Desirable
- HCPC-approved undergraduate or postgraduate dietetic qualification
- Current HCPC registration
- Minimum 3 years post-registration clinical experience in dietetics
- Previous experience of first contact or triage clinical work, or in a PCN role
- Experience working in a GP practice or primary care setting
- Understanding of NHS England's Roadmap to Practice
- Experience using EMIS or SystmOne clinical systems
About Primary Care Dietitians
Primary Care Dietitians is England's only national independent specialist PCN dietitian provider. We are focused on supporting NHS PCNs and their GP practices to deliver high-quality, tech-enabled dietetic services.
Our team is supported by experienced, NHS England trained clinical supervisors. We offer a supportive environment for all team members, with 4 hours of protected CPD time every week and structured career development through NHS England's Roadmap to Practice.
Whether you are a Band 6 with 3 years post-graduate experience stepping up into this role, or a seasoned Band 8a moving into primary care for the first time, we are committed to supporting your professional growth.
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
Contact
For more information about this role, please contact: [email protected]
Pay: £35,946.00-£51,532.00 per year
Application question(s):
- Are you registered with the HCPC?
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (preferred)
Work Location: In person
