Dietitians supporting the recovery of COVID-19 patients
Charlotte Foster, Senior Specialist Dietitian at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, writes about the changing roles of dieticians during the pandemic and provides some advice for the public on the immune system and caring for the elderly during this time.
During these testing and challenging times, many of us have found our roles and responsibilities changing to meet the needs of the current health climate, focusing our time, energy and resources into the fight against Coronavirus. In the nutrition and dietetic departments within Barts Health, this has certainly been the case.
Due to the increasing number of critically unwell patients being admitted to the Trust, there has been an extraordinary amount of work going on behind the scenes within the nutrition and dietetic departments, to ensure we can do our part to support the nutritional needs of patients facing Coronavirus.
It is well established that patients have a shorter length of stay in the hospital and particularly ICU when nutrition provision is established early. Preventing and managing malnutrition within the critically ill remains a challenge, and if not dealt with appropriately, can directly impact on recovery and rehabilitation. Our overriding goal during this pandemic is to ensure that all patients receive the right amount of nutrition to facilitate recovery from this acute illness and support their rehab.
Dietitians are involved in assessing the nutritional requirements of these patients and helping to determine which route of feeding and type of feed will best meet the needs of the patient. As the clinical condition of the critically ill patient can change quickly, dietitians must closely monitor their plans to ensure that the nutritional care is appropriate, safe and effective.
We want to say a huge thank you to all of the community and the paediatric dietetic teams who have been incredibly flexible and adaptable, implementing transferrable skills to enable them to upskill in potentially unfamiliar areas of dietetic practice, in order to support the teams of dietitians in the adult departments. Throughout all dietetic teams, there has been an incredible sense of collaborative team work which has helped foster a wonderful morale and supportive environment amidst staff.
We also want to express thanks to the dietitians working in critical care at each of the hospitals who have demonstrated strong leadership to provide teaching and continuing professional development to help upskill those less familiar with working in the ICU environment, as well as working closely with colleagues on the frontlines in ICU to develop enteral feeding protocols.
As well as a change in job role for many of the dietitians, across the Trust there has been a change to the pattern of working. There is now a weekend service provided, to attend to the nutritional needs of patients within each of the hospitals.
In addition to the response of the work to support those affected by COVID 19, there are many dietitians who are continuing to support the needs of patients facing other conditions e.g. Cystic Fibrosis or undergoing oncological treatment e.g. radiotherapy. For these patients, nutritional management remains integral to their care. In other outpatient services, dietitians are using technological platforms to support patients remotely, to ensure that their care is not disrupted or delayed.
Many dietitians are also collaborating with the media, to help provide advice at a public health level, to myth bust through inaccurate information relating to boosting the immune system by diet and providing some top tips to support the elderly and vulnerable in our communities. Below are some great resources on boosting your immune system and caring for the elderly:
We have selected some other useful resources and articles on diet and Coronavirus which are well worth a read:
www.bda.uk.com/resource/covid-19-corona-virus-advice-for-the-general-public.html
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8119167/Must-read-tips-survive-self-isolation.html
The roles and responsibilities of dietitians have evolved and changed at a fast rate, in reaction to the changing landscape of the nation’s health. As a profession, we are hugely proud and grateful for the collaborative effort and continued hard work of all those involved the NHS, and continue to strive to support the nutritional needs of the UK population during these new and challenging times.