Dietitians are qualified and regulated health professionals that assess, diagnose, and treat dietary and nutritional problems at an individual and wider public -health level.
They use the most up to date public health and scientific research on food, health, and disease which they translate into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.
Our team are experts in nutrition and dietetics and see patients in a range of settings such as hospitals, community clinics and in the patients’ home.
Our teams provide nutritional assessments and advice on appropriate diets for specific clinical conditions to adults, carers, relatives, and staff. Our aim is to help and support patients to follow their diet in a manageable and practical way. We also offer training and advice to other healthcare professionals.
Further information about dietitians can be found on the BDA website or the Health Professions Council website.
HMR Tier 3 Specialist Weight Management for Adults
This service now provided by a company called Morelife. If you wish to have bariatric surgery or just wish to lose weight you will need to be referred by your GP. The specialist team will only accept referrals for patients who have a BMI 35+ plus co- morbidities such as diabetes or heart disease or BMI 40+ with no co-morbidities.
For more information about the groups, they run and whether you meet the criteria for the service and whether you meet the criteria for Saxenda please visit the Greater Manchester - MoreLife UK website.
HMR Diabetes Dietitians
The team are part of the Integrated Care Diabetes Service working across Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale and Bury. They collaborate closely with specialist diabetes nurses, consultants, and GPs with a specialist interest in diabetes to offer structured education programmes such as Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) and Diabetes education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed (DESMOND) to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics
They also provide specialist diet clinics for individual support, carbohydrate counting, refreshers in carbohydrate counting and a range of non-specialist groups for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
The team are an integral part of the multi-disciplinary team in the outpatient setting for gestational diabetes, young persons’ clinic and transition clinic at Rochdale and Fairfield Hospital.
Referrals should be sent to through the Integrated Care Diabetes Service diabetes one stop hub.
HMR Nutrition Support Dietitians
The nutrition support service supports people who are or at risk of becoming malnourished and those receiving artificial feeding. Most work is delivered in care homes, clinics and patients own homes across Heywood, Middleton, and Rochdale by Registered Dietitians. There is also a Food and Nutrition advisor works across the Nursing homes and Care homes delivering a programme called Malnutrition United. This programme supports staff to identify malnutrition and as a first step encourages food fortification for patients.
The teams’ overall aims are to:
- Support patients to retain their independence around nutrition and hydration
- Reduce nutrition and hydration related admissions into hospital
- Prevent and reduce malnutrition across community settings
Patients that are referred the team may have medical conditions such as cancer particularly cancers linked to the digestive system, neurological (nervous system) conditions, learning disabilities, lung disease, liver disease and general advice around coeliac disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
From Tier 3 (More Life)
Morelife group programmes run for 12 weeks, with monthly maintenance sessions afterwards to help you stay on track. Each session lasts 1.5 hours and focuses on a new topic each week, such as:
- Portion control
- Understanding food labelling
- Changing habits
- Stress management
- The role of sleep
- Emotional and social eating
Our experienced team is made up of nutritionists, psychologists and sport and exercise specialists, and you will have a dedicated weight management practitioner for your whole journey with us.
From the diabetes team
These assessments will often be carried out along with a consultant or GP with specialist interest in diabetes and diabetes nurses.
From the nutrition support team
You will be offered an appointment to see a dietitian in clinic, by telephone or in your own home if appropriate. Your first appointment will be slightly longer as the dietitian will be conducting a full nutritional assessment.
The dietitian will discuss with you why you have been referred and ask you about your normal diet, lifestyle, diagnosis, investigations, and treatment plans. Your weight and height will be recorded along with the details of your previous weights and any changes already made to your diet. If you have been keeping a food diary this would be helpful along with a list of any medication taken.
You will be given advice, information and support including suggested food choices and meal ideas, help with understanding food labels and written information to read in your own time. You will be provided with an individual nutrition action plan with some points to follow until your next appointment.
Our appointment schedule is busy so patients are asked to please contact us as soon as possible if they think they will be unable to attend. This will enable us to offer their slot to another patient. If patients do not attend their appointment, they will be discharged from the service and will need another referral if they wish to make a new appointment.
Patients need to be registered with a Heywood, Middleton or Rochdale GP and referred by either their GP or other health care professional. Referrals can be emailed to the email addresses below. We ask that patients contact us as soon as possible if they are unable to attend their appointment. This will enable us to offer their appointment to another patient. If patients do not attend their appointment they will be discharged from service and will need another referral if they wish to make a new appointment.