Who is the service for?
The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics accept referrals from Pennine Acute Trust health care professionals for adult patients requiring dietary advice or intervention for the treatment or prevention of their medical condition. The department is unable to accept self-referrals. Patients are seen in inpatient, outpatient and group settings.
Dietitians see patients for a variety of reasons. The majority of patients seen require ‘nutritional support’ because they have reduced appetite, are unable to feed themselves, and/or have lost weight or muscle strength. This is due to their medical condition, disease or having had surgery. The dietitian provides individualised nutritional advice and support. This can include recommending high calorie foods, nutritional supplements or a tube feed.
Dietitians also see patients who ……
- have been diagnosed with a medical condition, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, coeliac disease (gluten-free diet)
- suffer with digestive problems
- have an allergy or intolerance to a certain food
- would like to lose weight (seen in outpatients only)
What does the service provide?
The department provides an acute dietetic service at North Manchester General Hospital.
Dietitians are experts in nutrition and provide practical and easy to follow dietary advice. We work with individuals and groups of patients to give advice on a range of special or therapeutic diets.
Dietetic treatment includes a confidential assessment of lifestyle factors, nutritional status, medical history and dietary intake to ensure that appropriate and practical dietary advice is given that is agreeable to the individual. We aim to optimise recovery and long-term health through diet.
We act as advisors to Pennine Acute Trust on nutritional standards and specifications for the nutritional care of our patients. We work with the Catering Service to ensure the hospital menus are reviewed and meet the needs of our patients.
Who will patients meet?
Dietitians are the only nutrition professionals to be regulated by law, and are governed by an ethical code to ensure that they always work to the highest standard.
You will be seen by a qualified dietitian who is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. The dietitian will assess and develop an appropriate nutritional treatment plan as described above.
You may also be seen by a dietetic assistant who will be working with the dietitian to review your treatment plan.
You may speak to or meet a member of the dietetic administration team when arranging or attending an outpatient clinic appointment.
The department is linked to Chester University and provides clinical placements for their student dietitians. You may see a student dietitian who is being supervised by a qualified dietitian.
When is the service available?
The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics working hours are Monday to Friday 8.30 – 4.30pm.
We are not available at weekends or on public holidays.
If you contact the department by telephone, outside of working hours, you can leave a message, which we will respond to as soon as possible.
Where is the service provided?
The Department has acute teams and outpatients based at North Manchester General Hospital.
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, North Manchester General Hospital, ground floor, main corridor, between E and F blocks
General Outpatient Clinic : Outpatient Department B (Main Entrance)
Head and Neck Outpatient Clinic: A Block (Entrance 4)
Antenatal Clinic : Antenatal Clinic (Entrance 1)
Diabetes Clinic: Diabetes Centre
Contact details
North Manchester General Hospital
General enquiries: 0161 720 2231
Patient appointments: 0161 918 4258
Email contact address: Dietetics.Manchester@pat.nhs.uk
Practical information
The Trust caters for people requiring a special diet, e.g. gluten-free. These are available upon request so please inform the nursing staff on your admission. If however you have complex dietary needs, e.g. multiple allergies, you can contact the department prior to your admission so that we can liaise with the catering department for you.
If you are being fed via a tube in the community we will provide a feeding pump and feed for you on the ward. You do not need to bring in your equipment and feed from home.
If you are attending an outpatient appointment with the dietitian you will receive a letter and information leaflet about your appointment, which includes advice on what to bring.
Key staff/consultants
Acute Services Managers (all sites)
Mrs Sarah Parker (Mon, Weds, Thurs) Mrs Suzy Hilton (Tues, Weds, Fri)
0161 627 8403