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St.Vincent’s Healthcare Group
Department of
Nutrition and Dietetics
Allied Health Professional and Support Services
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Staff
Sinead Curran,senior Dietitian in Diabetes left to take up a
position in the National Maternity Hospital.Maeve Moran filled
this post in July 2003.Linda Reynolds joined our team as
Dietitian to the Care of the Elderly and Neurology services in
September 2003.
Departmental Statistics:
Year Total Total Total Day Total Total
Inpatient Outpatient Hospitals/ Attendances Attendances
Attendances Attendances Units at Patient at Staff
Attendances Group Education
Education Sessions
Sessions
2001 17,086 2,293 571 1,455 672 staff
2002 18,304 2,077 1,209 1,527 740 staff
2003 17,463 1,762 1,217 1,368 300 staff
Variance 4.6% ò 15% ò ‹ 1% ñ 10.4% ò 59.4% ò
The staff complement level of the Department is 12 Whole
Time Equivalent (WTE) dietitians and one administrator (Grade
IV).In 2003,deferral of staff recruitment (reduction of one
WTE for 7 months) and absence of locum cover resulted in
reduced services.General OPD services were suspended from
April to September. However, specialist clinics continued
throughout this time.
During the period of deferral of staff replacement, inpatient
care was prioritised and additional workloads were shared
among staff.However, there was an increase of 12% in referred
patients being discharged without being seen by a Dietitian.
Activities in relation to training and development were reduced
by 20% in the same period.
Service Developments/Activities
Four dietetic students undertook their clinical placement
training in the department in 2003. Each student completed 17
weeks of a 26-week programme in St Vincent’s University
Hospital.
Due to staffing restrictions it was not possible to develop
service provision during 2003. However, the Nutrition Sub-
Committee (mu l t i d i s c i p l i n a ry representation), which is support e d
by this department,undertook to develop a ward-catering
manual.This manual contains information on the provision of
ward-based meals.It gives relevant information about specific
food requirements for individual patients who require a
therapeutic diet.The manual is intended for ward catering staff
as a resource to which they can refer. It is planned to make it
available in all ward kitchens in conjunction with staff training.
In collaboration with the Nutrition Committee, the Annual
Clinical Nutrition Study afternoon was held in September. 39
staff from St Vincent’s University Hospital,St Michael’s Hospital
and the Royal Hospital,Donnybrook attended.Evaluation was
very positive and suggestions for 2004 will be considered.As
part of the Nutrition Committee’s role, an audit of TPN
practice was undertaken in 2002.This prompted a review of
the TPN monitoring protocol.This was commenced in 2003
and should be completed in 2004.
Significant Achievements
Despite staffing shortages,the department undertook a review
of all dietary information produced in the department.This was
in response to the Health
Literacy – Policy and Strategy Report (2002) produced by the
National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA).This report highlighted
the extent of literacy difficulties and the degree to which this
problem can limit access to health information and health
services.As dietitians,education of clients is fundamental to
p r oviding effe c t i ve healthcare.T h e r e fo r e we undertook to
review all diet sheets / dietary information to ensure it
complied with the NALA guidelines.Department guidelines
were revised to ensure that dietary information produced in
the future is in line with the NALA guidelines.
Ms Lynda Parke, Senior Dietitian supervised a final year dietetic
student who undertook a follow up research project to
investigate the effects of eating and drinking during
haemodialysis.The findings of this study and an audit undertaken
in 2002,confirm previously published research.The results of
both audits have been submitted for presentation at the British
Renal Society Meeting in 2004.
Significant Publications/Presentations
Presentations:
Vivien Reid,CSD presented a poster presentation entitled "The
influence of cardiac rehabilitation on lifestyle change – one-year
follow up" at the Irish Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation
meeting in October 2003.
Catherine Lamont,presented a poster on "The evaluation of
education sessions to ward catering staff" at the Health Promoting
Hospitals Conference in November 2003
Publications:
Freyne A,Doyle M,Clarke A. and Darby M.(2003) "Prevalence
of osteoporosis and osteopenia among attenders at an eating
disorder programme" Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Nov.
62,24A.
Future Plans
• We plan to review our general OPD dietetic service, to
facilitate the growing demand for services.We currently have
a 6-month waiting list for new and review appointments.In
turn this is causing an increase in "failure to attend" rates.We
will explore providing an "agreed package" of care for clients
and priority clinics for urgent consultations.
• We plan to formalise our clinical supervisory practice for
dietitians, providing training for trainers,which will be rolled
out to all members of the department in autumn 2004.
• In collaboration with our Speech and Language Therapy
colleagues, we have completed a number of projects in
relation to improving the care of clients with dysphagia.We
plan to review and revise our joint care plans and complete
an integrated education booklet.
Liz Barnes
Dietitian Manager
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