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Nutrition and Dietetics

Hillingdon Hospital: Main building, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
General enquiries: 01895 279416
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8am and 4pm

The Nutrition and Dietetics Department is based at the Hillingdon Hospital site. There is a small office on the Mount Vernon site to serve the Hillingdon wards on that site and the outpatients seen at Mount Vernon. Hillingdon dietitians are the experts in improving health and well being for everyone through good evidence-based nutrition. There are nine Dietitians with two administration support working within the hospital, who deal with general enquiries and queries regarding outpatient appointments. Dietitians provide a service to wards and clinics depending on their area of specialty.

food Each Dietitian provides services to assigned wards and clinics. We have specialists for Paediatrics, Mental Health, Eating Disorders, Intensive Care, Diabetes, Nutrition Support and the Tudor Centre.
  • The Dietetic Manager is responsible for managing the service. If you have any concerns or queries she will be happy to discuss them with you. Her contact number is 01895 279416.
  • Private referrals – we are happy to undertake private work so long as payment is assured e.g. from your health insurance.

We have specific information for GP's and other NHS Health Professionals on our new Extranet website (NHS Network only).

Student placements are offered for half of the calendar year, we currently take students who are reaching the end of their training and this means that whilst being closely monitored patients maybe seen by a student dietitian; this is an essential part of their training.

The Department is proud to have attained the Investors in People (IiP) Award. The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is now being put forward for this award. IiP demonstrates a real commitment to investing time and resources in its people to ensure they are confident and competent in their roles and deliver an excellent and ever improving service to patients.

The new Hillingdon Nutrition Screening Tool was launched on 1 November 2011. This tool has been developed in order to improve nutrition screening and to facilitate the detection and treatment of malnutrition. The trust prioritises nutrition and the provision of appropriate food and drinks to all patients, with support as needed, monitoring patients during their stay. All patients are screened within 24 hours of hospital admission and then weekly thereafter. A clear and practical set of management guidelines is followed according to each patient's nutrition screening tool score. Dietitians are involved for the high risk patients and those that need support and advice on nutrition.

What do Dietitians do?

Registered Dietitians (RD) are uniquely qualified to a graduate level or above and are experts in individually assessing and advising on diet and nutrition in a variety of settings. The title ‘dietitian’ can only be held by people who are appropriately trained by recognised organisations and are registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC). The following link can be used to check that you are consulting with a registered dietitian: www.hpccheck.org

Dietitians are available to help educate and provide individual dietary advice to individuals staying in hospital that need our help, and/or their carers. This is useful for anyone whose medical condition can be wholly or partly treated by diet e.g. diabetes.

Dietitians are involved in clinical nutritional support for patients with poor appetites and for those unable to eat and drink sufficiently. In some cases someone may require a feeding tube to supplement their food intake and help them to recover quicker.

Other therapeutic diets may involve changes to specific nutrients that are needed to achieve recovery and these will be dealt with individually with a full explanation given. Specially tailored meals will be provided from the Diet Kitchen for those who need them.

Some individuals may need advice on how to change their diets once they get home, e.g. raised cholesterol, weight loss. In these cases the dietitian will tailor advice about this in hospital and offer support with a follow up appointment as an outpatient.

General healthy eating information is available on display boards/leaflet stands on the hospital wards.

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What to expect as an inpatient if you are referred to a dietitian

If you are referred to a dietitian s/he will come up to the ward to see you within 48hours, often sooner. S/he will assess the reason for referral and obtain background information from your medical and nursing notes as well as in liaison with nursing and medical staff. S/he will then come and introduce themselves and speak with you about the reason for referral. Once s/he has obtained some more information from you and or your family/carers s/he will make some suggestions to improve your nutritional intake.

If you are having difficulty eating due to a poor appetite s/he may suggest some snacks and fortified drinks/puddings between your meals. S/he will then organise these and revisit you in the next day or so to review your progress. In the meantime you may be put o a food record chart so that your progress can be assessed accurately.

How to get referred if you are concerned:

Please speak with the nurse looking after you and talk over your nutritional concerns, s/he can then refer you if necessary to the ward dietitan.

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Useful Websites

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