We follow Millie, a Dietetics Assistant at Ellern Mede Derby, as she starts her day managing our patients nutrition.
Millie is a dedicated, caring and compassionate member of our team. She is part of a larger team that cares for our patients and assists our Lead Specialist Eating Disorders Dietitian. Millie clocks in at 8am and routinely clocks out at 16:30.
The Working day begins with meeting the kitchen staff to ensure they have everything they need for meals. Millie will often take trips to the grocery store to purchase missing items, much like today at 14.30. After checking in with the kitchen she makes her way to the bistro and proceeds to asses for any risks as patients will make their own breakfast, this builds their independent living skills and prepares them to be comfortable around food. Breakfast is at 8.35 for Millie which she eats with a patient. Breakfast is then followed by post-meal support. At 9am Millie reads through previous days notes, ensuring patients have managed all nutritional intake and ensures no deficits are handed over.
Millie works at an incredible pace going from one job to another however, through-out her day she always has time to stop in between to speak to her co-workers, engaging in conversation, offering any help or advice and checking in with how they are feeling.
9.30 is morning meeting which is usually 30 minutes of discussing any issues, notifications, and an overall catchup with co-workers on how they are getting on with their work.
After morning meeting Millie then proceeds to write up a CPA report ready for CPA meeting later in the week and sends this over to the Lead Dietician. Around 11 Millie will make her way to the ward to check in with patients and to ask if they require anything. This can take some time as she has established a good relationship with patients which is important for helping Millie care for them.
On this particular day Ellern Mede Derby had a new admission. Because of this, a pre admission meeting is usually held which is a handover between the old team who was caring for the patient and the new team. This was meeting number 2 for Millie that day. An introduction then took place between the new admission and Millie which gave Millie the chance to explain her role to the patient.
After lunch, Millie then spends time adapting menus which was due for a change in some of the meal plans. At 13.20 it’s back to the ward to check in with the staff members and to give advice on deficits. Millie then heads back to her office, a space that she has not seen for some time now, to write up MDT (Multi-Disciplinary Team) notes notes for the next day. At 14:00 she then completes a weight audit for the previous month, assessing progression in dietetic side of recovery.
After grocery shopping, Millie then heads back to the ward to check on the patients, finishing off her day with writing up notes for the day and recording all patient contact and conversations.
People like Millie are crucial in our services.
Because of people like Millie we are able to offer advice on food and nutrition to help people improve their health and wellbeing. Health conditions such as eating disorders, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and gastrointestinal diseases can be better managed with an good understanding of nutrition.
16:30 is home time for Millie, she says her goodbyes and heads home ready for tomorrow.
