Hosted jointly by the British Dietetic Association’s (BDA) Northern Ireland Board and Northern Ireland Branch, Connect - Celebrate - Collaborate brought together the nation’s dietetic workforce for an evening of networking, knowledge-sharing, and recognition. The event took place during Dietitians Week, an annual celebration of the valuable work of the profession.
Speakers from each of Northern Ireland’s five health trusts shared powerful examples of how dietetics is driving innovation and improving care within the health service.
- Belfast based clinical lead, Sarah-Jane Nelson, spoke about the almost 30 year history of the intestinal rehabilitation service in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, and how this pioneering work has led to huge increases in survival rates and improved quality of life for people with intestinal failure.
- Michelle Graham-Steele, team lead for the public health dietitians in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust spoke about how they are helping the public to get access to evidence-based nutritional advice in a fast-paced digital world.
- Warren Edwards and Twyla Moffitt represented the Western Health and Social Care Trust and explored the vital role of education in developing the dietetic workforce. The Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt’s, decision to increase the number of dietetic student places at the university of Ulster by over 60%, was incredibly welcome news to those in the room.
- Jill Smyth explored the role dietitians are playing in the emergency department frailty team in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, helping to identify and treat signs of malnutrition in older and vulnerable people.
- Christine McColgan, who works in the Ulster Hospital, spoke about the role dietetics plays in ambulatory hub services in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, and how their work is improving people’s experience of receiving emergency care.
There were also talks from Jenny Kirkwood, Chair of the AHP Federation on The Allied Health Professions Federation Northern Ireland, Pete Burbidge, AHP lead at the Department of Health on the CAHPO team and what they do and Registered Dietitian Fiona Audley, who is also Professional Practice Officer at the BDA on recognising the value of the dietetic support workforce through action and advocacy.
515 registered dietitians work across Northern Ireland, in a diverse number of sectors. These include within Health and Social Care NI, in public health, as freelancers, working within industry or in research roles.
Registered dietitians are the only qualified and regulated health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems at an individual and wider public health level.
Debbie McGugan, Chair of the BDA’s Northern Ireland Board and community rehab dietitian in the Northern Trust, said, “It was fantastic to get together tonight and hear about the innovative work happening across the country.
“As a community rehab dietitian, I get to see every day just how life-changing our work is and opportunities like these are really important to step back and remember just how important the work of dietitians and dietetic support workers is to the wider health service.”
View our gallery of photos from the event
Chair of the BDA’s Northern Ireland Branch, Hilary Friel, said, “The goal of this evening was to give our members the opportunity to celebrate the great work they do every day, and the opportunity to meet up with colleagues from across the country. I’m delighted that we had a packed event and that everyone enjoyed the evening as much as we hoped they would!”
CEO of the BDA, Liz Stockley, travelled from England to attend the event. She said, “Northern Ireland has such an active and vibrant membership and attending Connect - Celebrate – Collaborate was a brilliant way to round off our Dietitians Week celebrations.
“It’s really important for us to increase the visibility of our profession because our members make such an invaluable contribution to health and wellbeing across the UK.”
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