Department of Nutrition & Dietetics

Mission Statement

The dietitian provides a high quality therapeutic and advisory service to improve the heath of the individual patient by appropriate nutritional intervention whilst respecting the individual’s beliefs and choices.

What is a Dietitian / Clinical Nutritionist?
Role of the Dietitian / Clinical Nutritionist
How do I see the Dietitian?
Outpatient Service
Diabetes
Student Training
Shadowing
Contact

What is a Dietitian / Clinical Nutritionist?

A Dietitian / Clinical Nutritionist is uniquely qualified to translate scientific information about food and nutrition into practical dietary advice. To work as a Dietitian in Ireland, one must hold at least a university degree in Nutrition and Dietetics or an equivalent qualification. From 1^st October 2014 all dietitians working in Connolly Hospital will be state registered dietitians.

Role of the Dietitian / Clinical Nutritionist

The Dietitian works closely with other members of the multi-disciplinary team (medical, nursing and other allied health professionals) to provide optimum patient care.

Dietitians are responsible for the nutritional care of patients while in the hospital setting:

• They carry out nutritional assessment of patients and design care plans to meet nutritional requirements or correct poor nutritional status.
• Where necessary the dietitian will organise nutritional support (tube feeding or intravenous feeding).
• Dietitians liaise with the catering department to provide patients with therapeutic diets, which are used to optimise the well being of patients with specific medical conditions.

Dietitians provide advice/education on the following areas:

• Cholesterol lowering and lipid modification
• Secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke
• Diabetes
• Weight gain (post illness/surgery)
• Weight management
• Gastrointestinal disorders (including inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal surgery leading to stoma formation)
• Cancer
• Kidney failure
• Swallowing difficulties

How do I see the Dietitian?

The dietitian must receive an individual written referral from the patient’s medical team, before they can be seen for dietary or nutritional intervention/education. The patient can be seen by the dietitian as an in-patient, and / or in the out-patient department after they have been discharged.

In-patient services covered by Department of Nutrition and Dietetics:

• ICU
• General medicine
• Medicine for the Elderly (MEDEL)
• Oncology
• General surgery
• Gastrointestinal surgery
• Surgical Day ward
• Orthopaedics
• Cardiology
• Gastroenterology
• Endocrinology
• Rheumatology

Outpatient Service

There are a limited number of General Medical and General Surgery clinics.

Diabetes

There is a diabetic service available to all patients with Diabetes who attend the Diabetes Day Centre. Patients must be referred by the Diabetes medical team.

GP referrals are not accepted. The GP must refer to the community dietitian.

In the event of inability to attend an out-patient appointment please ring the department secretary on (01) 6465721. If an appointment is not attended without prior cancellation, no follow up will be provided.

Student Training

The department provides student training to undergraduate students of Trinity College (TCD) / Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) B.Sc (Hons) Human Nutrition and Dietetics course.

Shadowing

The department will consider for shadowing, those third level students that have applied to a post graduate dietetics course. Evidence of application will need to be provided.

The following applicants will not be accepted for shadowing experience:

• Transition year students
• Leaving cert or third level students that have not applied for a dietetics course.

Contact Information

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
Connolly Hospital
Blanchardstown
Dublin 15
Ireland

Tel:01-6465721 (Department Secretary – Mary Egan)
Tel:01-6465722 (Department Manager – Linda Killeen)
Fax:01-6465244

To contact a dietitian directly, telephone hospital switch (01-8213844) and request dietitians bleep (see below)