Dietitian service at Parkside Hospital

Healthy eating is important for everyone. At times in your life, however, it can be difficult to know how best to nourish your body and improve your wellbeing.

Many health conditions can affect your appetite or taste and make it harder to have a nourishing diet. In turn, this can have an impact on your weight, strength, energy levels, mood or how you manage your symptoms. Our dietitian can work directly with your doctor and make sure that any treatment is adapted to your individual needs.

There is a lot of conflicting information available about healthy eating. Our dietitian service can:

• recommend a specific meal plan to help you manage a medical condition
• give you the support that you need with your diet
• help you to achieve your goals

Why should I see a dietitian?

There are many reasons why you may decide to see a dietitian. You may ask for specialist advice about your diet to achieve a specific goal. Your GP or consultant may also refer you to a dietitian. This could be to help you manage current symptoms or the side effects of any treatment.

Our dietitian can work with you on a one-to-one basis or as part of the wider health team at Parkside Hospital. The dietitian can:

• carry out a personal nutritional assessment
• support you to achieve your individual goals, in line with best practice guidelines
• explore the link between your diet and any symptoms, such as constipation (difficulty in emptying the bowels), diarrhoea (loose and watery bowel movements) or bloating (when your tummy feels swollen after eating)
• reduce the risk of diet-related ill health

What issues can a dietitian help with?

Our dietitian can help with many different issues:

• Cancer: We have a specialised dietitian service for people living with cancer. The dietitian can give you advice on healthy eating to strengthen and support your body before, during and after cancer treatment. A balanced diet can help to prevent inflammation, improve your body’s defences and reduce the risk of cancer returning when your treatment is finished.
• The risk of malnutrition: The dietitian can help to prevent malnutrition, where your diet does not contain the right amount of nutrients. They can give you tips to deal with loss of appetite or early satiety (feeling full after only eating a small amount of food).
• Digestive problems: The dietitian can help you to manage digestive issues, such as:
  • acid reflux (when stomach acid travels up towards the throat)
  • bloating
  • diarrhoea or constipation
  • dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing)
  • fatty liver (a build-up of fat in the liver)
  • food allergies and intolerance
  • irritable bowel syndrome (a common condition that affects the digestive system)
  • kidney or liver failure
  • malabsorption (when your body cannot digest or absorb enough nutrients from food)
• Weight management: The dietitian can support you to reach a healthy weight for your height (body mass index or BMI).
• Diabetes: The dietitian can help you to control your blood sugar levels through a balanced diet. This can lower the risk of complications from Type 1 or 2 diabetes.
• Cardiac (heart) health: If you have heart disease or are at risk of getting it, the dietitian can give you healthy eating advice. This can help to protect your heart and lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Respiratory (lung) health: If you have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (a lung condition that causes breathing difficulties), the dietitian can guide you on suitable food choices. This can help to improve your respiratory health.

What type of advice can a dietitian give me?

The dietitian can give you useful recommendations about your diet that are based on up-to-date evidence and best practice guidelines. Their advice is always tailored to your personal needs.

Our dietitian can:

• give you advice about evidence-based nutritional guidelines
• recommend a specific diet to help you manage a condition and complement your treatment
• listen to your goals and work with you to make a personal nutrition care plan
• help you to understand the evidence and myths about diet
• help to relieve the symptoms of digestive problems
• help you to gain or lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way
• support you with healthy eating to prevent heart disease

What treatments can a dietitian offer?

There is increasing awareness that a healthy diet is vital to keep well and prevent disease. Although there is a lot of nutritional information on the internet, it is not always based on scientific evidence. This can make it difficult to choose the best possible diet.

Dietitians have the professional knowledge and skills to give you practical guidance based on reliable, up-to-date research. Our dietitian can create a personal nutrition care plan that suits your medical needs. The dietitian carries out a nutritional assessment and discusses your preferences, priorities and individual challenges. They then prepare a plan to help you make positive choices about your diet and lifestyle.

Are dietitians regulated by a professional body?

Dietitians are the only nutrition professionals who are regulated by law and governed by a professional code of conduct. This ensures that they follow high-quality standards when treating all patients under their care.

Our dietitian is registered with the Health Care and Professions Council, which regulates health and care professions in the UK. They are also a member of the British Dietetic Association, which is the professional body for UK dietitians.

How do I book an appointment with the dietitian?

If you would like to see the dietitian at Parkside Hospital, you need to check whether this is covered by any private medical insurance. Otherwise, if you are paying for your own treatment, an initial appointment with the dietitian costs £100 and a follow-up appointment costs £45.

To book an appointment with the dietitian at Parkside Hospital, please telephone 020 3944 0568 or complete the form below.

We may ask you to complete a three-day food diary and bring this to your appointment. If you cannot visit our clinic, we can arrange a telephone appointment with the dietitian.

In some cases, we may contact your GP or consultant before or after your appointment. We can make them aware of our advice to you and check that we have all the information needed to give you the best care.