If you need support with your diet or have concerns about your nutritional intake then our dietitians can give practical advice specific to your condition.
There are lots of ways we can help, through health promotion activities and cooking sessions, helping you manage your weight (whether that’s losing or gaining weight), or supporting you if you are unable to eat because of a medical condition.
We have adult and children’s dietitians and nutrition nurse specialists who are supported by nutritionists, dietetic assistants and food and health workers.
Clinics
Clinics are held at various sites including our general hospitals in Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck as well as in our community hospitals and health centres. We also have clinics in GP surgeries for those patients who have diabetes.
We can undertake home visits if you are registered housebound and our dietitians assess and treat people on the hospital wards who are referred by the ward team.
If you would like to see a dietitian, you can check with your GP or consultant if a referral can be made for you.
We may see you in one-to-one consultation, and we also hold a variety of educational sessions to patients and carers with other health professionals including cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation sessions.
We are a teaching department and regularly have dietetic students with us. If you would prefer not to have a student present in your consultation please inform the department.
You may be seen by one of the following specialist teams:
- Adult clinical dietitians
We work across the hospital wards providing assessment and advice to people with a variety of complex clinical conditions. If you are admitted to one of our hospitals and have difficulty eating or need a specific diet or advice, the ward staff will refer you to us. A dietitian will see you on the ward and ask you questions about your eating and medical history to allow an individualised plan to be made.
We will liaise with the catering department to ensure you are able to meet your nutritional needs while you are with us in hospital.
The clinical dietitians will also look after you if you need additional dietary monitoring and support once you have left hospital, such as requiring artificial nutrition or nutritional supplements.
We also have specialist dietitians who have input to the bariatric (weight loss) surgery service. They are an integral part of the bariatric team and are involved in patient assessment and post operative follow up.
- Diabetes dietitians
The diabetes dietitians work within the diabetes specialist service and GP practices across North Tyneside and Northumberland to advise patients on the nutritional management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes including providing information on weight, lifestyle and lipid management.
We also advise on medication and insulin adjustments when required and deliver structured group education programmes for those starting on insulin or for weight management. We also deliver the nationally recognised diabetes patient education groups , DAFNE and DESMOND.
Most GP practices have a diabetes dietitian who does clinics in the surgery. If you would like to see a dietitian about the management of your diabetes, you can call your surgery to make an appointment you don’t need to see the doctor or nurse first.
Diabetes dietitians can help with blood glucose levels, preventing hypos, weight loss or gain and pre-pregnancy advice.
We also see people who are at high risk of developing diabetes.
- Weight management specialist dietitians
There are adult weight management programmes which run in community venues in North Tyneside (Lighten Up) and Northumberland (Food for Thought). These programmes are led by dietitians and also involve psychology and physical activity. You can ask your GP to refer you to the groups.
- Children’s dietetic service (paediatric)
Our paediatric dietitians specialise in the nutritional care of infants, children and young people in hospital and community settings such as clinics (including joint feeding clinics), home or school setting.
The role of the paediatric dietetic team includes:
- Providing nutritional support for children with medical conditions, such as neurological disorders, special needs and premature infants
- Nutritional assessment and giving tailored advice on specific nutrients, for example iron for those who have iron deficiency anaemia
- Offering advice for children/young people who have growth faltering
- Giving advice to children/young people who are overweight
- Specialist advice given on therapeutic diets, for example diabetes, coeliac disease and allergies
- Behavioural feeding advice for children/young people with special needs, autistism or those who are selective eaters
- Supporting children/young people with an eating disorder and their parents/carers
- Community dietetic team in North Tyneside
The community team provides a service to young people and families in North Tyneside, with priority to those living in areas of deprivation.
The community team’s work aims to reduce the numbers of children who are overweight. The team includes dietitians, community nutritionists and food and health workers, working in partnership with numerous external agencies.
This service is delivered from various community venues such as children’s centres and includes family intervention programmes, cooking groups and training for professionals.
- Nutrition nurse specialists
The nutrition nurse specialists work closely with the dietitians, providing support in enteral tube management on the hospital wards and in the community.
- We offer education and practical guidance on tube care, supporting patients and their carers who need enteral feeding when on the ward or in their homes.
- We co-ordinate training in all aspects of enteral feeding for hospital or community nursing staff.
