Frequently Asked Questions

All members of the Dietetic Support Workforce, can work alone with service users, both in acute and community settings, within the scope of their role. At all levels they must only be completing tasks for which they have received the appropriate training and education, and have been signed off as competent for.

All staff must be aware of the lone working policies in place within their organisation.

All organisations must have clear and appropriate escalation plans in place for tasks or activities members of the support workforce are undertaking alone, should an issue or concern arise. All staff should have an understanding, and awareness of these. This is of particular importance for members of the Support Workforce at Band 3 and above, who will undertake clinical tasks within their role.

This will depend on the activity or task they are undertaking; the BDA is working on additional guidance around the roles and responsibilities of the Support Workforce which will be available in the future.

Members of the support workforce at Band 3 and above can work unsupervised in clinical areas on tasks that are within the scope of their role, provided they have had appropriate training and education, and are competent to perform the tasks they are undertaking. They should be working within clear protocols written and agreed by registered healthcare professionals.

All staff should be aware of the local escalation protocols should they find themselves in a situation which is outside the scope of their role, or their scope of practice and the support of a registered healthcare professional be required. 

For tasks which have been delegated by a registered professional and involve direct service user care, adequate training and education will need to be demonstrated and provided to the member of the Support Workforce. Written evidence of this is needed, whether that is in the form of a formal competence, or documentation following a supervisory session including details of the training provided and competency achieved.

Competencies can provide a step-by-step guide for a particular task which can be helpful when assessing an individual’s capability against a standard. Therefore, in order to delegate appropriately, a written competence can be helpful in ensuring all steps are followed and make the process of delegation more straight forward.

Any task which has been delegated to a member of the Support Workforce which requires training and involves direct service user care should be fully documented. Although not required, a written competence is good practice and a good demonstration of an individual’s capability in a delegated task.

To be assessed as competent, they must demonstrate their ability to perform the task correctly and consistently on observation. Depending on the complexity of the task, the registered healthcare professional may want to observe an individual performing the task on multiple occasions and if appropriate in different situations/settings. Members of the Support Workforce should be supported in recording their competence for specific tasks. Competence should be reviewed, ideally on an annual basis.

A registered health care professional must assess competence. The registered healthcare professional must feel confident and competent to undertake the task they are assessing competence for. For dietetic specific competencies, these need to be assessed by a registered dietitian, with experience in the competency being assessed.

Members of the support workforce are well placed to support learners during PBL. They can do so by demonstrating and explaining activities within the scope of their role. They may also assist departments with the organisation of PBL including time table planning, and inductions.

However, they should not be assessing or signing off the competency of a learner (student). This should only be undertaken by a registered healthcare professional.

We recommend that any staff members, including members of the Support Workforce, who support learners during PBL, undertake the PBL training which is often provided by local Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). Additionally, Health Education England (HEE) has developed an e-Learning programme available to members of the Support Workforce, to provide training to develop their understanding of student education and develop their skills in supporting students and educators within their teams. More information on this programme can be found here.

Members of the Support Workforce at Band 4 and above, who have good knowledge of the department and support systems in place for learners (students) are well placed to be mentors/buddies.

We recommend that any staff members, including members of the Support Workforce, who support learners during PBL, undertake the PBL training which is often provided by local Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). Additionally, Health Education England (HEE) has developed an e-Learning programme available to members of the Support Workforce, to provide training to develop their understanding of student education and develop their skills in supporting students and educators within their teams. More information on this programme can be found here.

Details of the minimum education and experience requirements for members of the dietetic Support Workforce can be found within the BDA Support Workforce Professional Development Framework. Organisations may wish to outline additional experience requirements when recruiting to a specific role, particularly if it is focused within a particular specialism. This will be at the discretion of the recruiting organisation. However, it is not appropriate for organisations to quantify how much experience an individual must have e.g., 2 years’ experience.

It is important to note that experience cannot be a replacement for the minimum education requirements. This is to ensure there is a standardised level of education for roles within each level of practice, anywhere across the UK, regardless of the setting.