The role of a primary care dietitian is a new role within the NHS which is partly as a result of NHS Long-Term Plan. The dietician role has been active in Norwich Primary Care Network (PCN) for over a year now and has included work as expert generalist dietitian seeing a wide variety of clinical conditions such as: frailty and malnutrition, diabetes, overweight and obesity, gastroenterology, and paediatrics.

The Dietetic Service delivers a comprehensive nutrition service to all 22 GP Practices within the PCN.
Referrals are received from all health care professionals working in the PCN, patients are seen either face-to-face at the individual GP practices or remotely via telephone appointments. The dietitian works closely with the clinical pharmacists to help with medicines optimisation of oral nutritional supplements and to achieve nutrition related targets for PQS.

Having recently completed the non-medical prescribing course as a supplementary prescriber, this enables the dietician to prescribe medications and oral nutritional supplements/formulas, using a care management plan as agreed with the GP and the patient. Thereby reducing the demand for GP time, optimising medicine usage and helping improve the patient’s safety.

The dietician is currently in the process of completing the HEE Roadmap to Practice pathway, to become a First Contact Practitioner (FCP) Dietitian. A FCP Dietitian works in primary care to assess, diagnose, formulate, and implement management plans for conditions relating to nutrition and dietetics.