Nutrition and Dietetics

Food and health

Based at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, the Nutrition and Dietetics department is small but has a wide-ranging and challenging clinical workload. This includes input to the renal dialysis unit, the oncology unit and the community paediatric team at Lukis House, as well as to the acute medical/surgical wards and the mental health sector - both rehabilitation and long-stay.

Occasional (flying) visits are made to the Mignot Memorial hospital in Alderney - and we link up annually with the Jersey dietetic team to share good practice and foster communication between the islands.

We have an established Consultant Dietetic post, providing leadership on local nutrition-related issues and supported by other dietitians on a sessional basis. The department is involved extensively in the training of other staff (pre and post-registration) and we place a high priority on our own professional development, with a training budget allocated to each individual.

The department’s approach is has always been innovative. We introduced a comprehensive nutrition screening programme well before the MUST initiative; we adopted a modified carbohydrate counting system for type-1 diabetics, who would not have complied with DAFNE training; and we are presently leading a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of essential fatty acids on the treatment of patients with Alzheimers disease.