Uniforms make dietitians more easy to identify; Health Reporter HELEN RAE finds out how patients in the region are benefiting fr

Byline: HELEN RAE

DIETITIANS working in the North East can now be identified more easily by patients - thanks to being given a uniform for the first time.

More than 30 dietitians at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will wear the uniforms.

Their outfit consists of white tunics for hospitalbased staff and teal polo shirts for community staff, both with black trousers.

The uniforms have been introduced to make it easier for patients to identify them and for infection control reasons.

The move will bring the dietitians into line with the majority of the Trust's other clinical staff who already wear uniforms.

Ann Geddes, head of nutrition and dietetic services at the Trust, said: "The uniforms mean that patients identify us much more easily when we're doing our ward rounds and clinics.

"In hospital, patients can see a lot of staff with different uniforms during their stay so it is beneficial to be able to be identified as a dietitian at a glance.

"Similarly, there are a lot of staff with different uniforms working in the community so it will be a great help to patients that these workers are now in uniforms.

"Our team includes nutritionists and food and health workers who are based in the community. They also wear tealcoloured polo shirts. "Not only are the uniforms beneficial for patients, they also help infection control which is a top priority for the Trust. We are continually working to reduce our infection rates.

"The Trust has been working towards introducing the uniforms for over a year and the whole team is pleased that we are now in uniform."

Dietitians in hospitals work with patients on wards and in specialist clinics to promote nutritional wellbeing, prevent food-related problems and treat disease.

In the community, dietitians, nutritionists and food and health workers oversee activities in relation to health promotion and disease prevention and management.

They hold a number of groups including those for adults and children with diabetes and community cooking and weight management sessions.

Overall, the Trust employs more than 6,000 and is one of the largest healthcare employers in the North East.

It runs with 10 hospitals throughout Northumberland and North Tyneside.

CAPTION(S):

FIRST UNIFORMS: - Front left, Helen Keegan, team leader of diabetes dietitians based at North Tyneside General Hospital, and, front right, Ann Geddes, head of nutrition and dietetic services at the Trust, with their staff wearing the uniforms.

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