Major National award for Northern Trust led Regional Prescribing Support Dietetic Team

3 October 2018

 The Northern Trust-led, Regional Prescribing Support Dietetic Team, has been Awarded the 2018 Clinical Nutrition Award for Community Nutrition Professionals of the Year. The team which works directly with GPs, pharmacists, nursing and residential care homes across Northern Ireland to identify and treat malnutrition in adults has been recognised for its outstanding work in promotion of safe and effective prescribing of oral nutritional supplements, underpinned by providing patient-centred care in the management of malnutrition.

Providing nutritional advice, literature and meal plans in a holistic patient-centred manner to both carers and family members, the Regional Prescribing Dietetic Team aims to improve the quality of nutritional care across a number of different care settings as well as streamlining cost–effective prescribing using innovative approaches to patient assessment and management such as virtual patient consultations and a digital monitoring system initiated within nursing homes.

For the last ten months the team has been working to improve the delivery of this regional clinical service to patients and service users. After a recent successful HSC pilot scheme it has now been commissioned to deliver tele-monitoring service within nursing and care homes, regionally aiming to further improve clinical outcomes, reduce patient time attending outpatient patients, enhance MDT working and ultimately improve patient care.

Joe Brogan, Head of Pharmacy, Health and Social Care Board which commissions dietetic review services from the team said, “The Regional Prescribing Support Dietetic team provides a valuable service in support of our work with GPs, care homes and in the community.  They have been responsible for ensuring that nutritional supplements prescribed are of value to the patient, reducing unnecessary prescription of food supplements and promoting a ‘Food First’ approach where practical.”

A spokesperson for the team said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won the award for Clinical Nutrition Professionals of the year. It is made more special being voted for by our peers. We are proud to promote the great work of dietetics in Northern Ireland and we would like to thank everybody that took time to vote. As a team we are passionate about the prevention and management of malnutrition in the community and to be recognised for our work means so much.”

23rd October 2018