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2023 CN Awards – Shortlist

The Publishers of CN Magazine are delighted to reveal the 2023 CN Awards shortlist.


Nutrition Resource of the Year


ARFID Position Statement

Authors: Angharad Banner, Paola Falcoski, Claire Knight, Elizabeth Roberts, Michelle Simpson, Sian Taylor, Clare Thornton-Wood, Mala Watts, Emma Jordan & Jessica Rann – British Dietetic Association (BDA) ARFID Special Interest Group Committee

Nominated by: Angharad Banner, Highly Specialist Paediatric & CAMHS Dietitian, Cwm Taf University Health Board 

The Role of the Dietitian in the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Young People with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Written by the British Dietetic Association (BDA) ARFID Special Interest Group Committee. Published June 2022: https://www.bda.uk.com/uploads/assets/3d62ac89-2837-46fb-987ae870b4b2a617/BDA-ARFID-Position-Statementlogos.pdf.

The ARFID Position Statement is a guidance document that is freely available from the BDA. The aim of the document is to demonstrate that dietitians are central to the assessment and treatment of children and young people (CYP) with ARFID. It was peer reviewed by leading professionals in the field as well as ARFID Awareness UK (AAUK)

The document includes a definition of ARFID, nutritional risks of ARFID, the role and responsibility of specialist dietitians, staffing recommendations, the extended roles of dietitians and a list of useful references.

There is a lack of published guidance on the role of dietitians working with ARFID. This is a clear and well thought through paper that clearly demonstrates the skills and knowledge of dietitians and their key role in the assessment and management of this patient group, making it a valuable resource.

Increasingly, dietitians within specialist services such as eating disorders, CAMHS, paediatric, and other areas are being approached to support these patients within current caseloads.

The authors were driven by a desire to understand how they could help dietitians provide the best service for patients and how they could ensure that, going forward, service developments included appropriate dietetic resources, including the right skill set and clinical capacity.

At the national SIG meetings (500+ members) the document is being shared widely and used to inform service developments across the UK. Most recently, it was discussed at the London Eating Disorder Conference 2023. It has also influenced the Masters Modules for Paediatrics where ARFID was included for the first time this year as part of the curriculum.

This resource has impacted dietitians across the UK and comes highly recommended by the BDA Paediatric Specialist Group, Mental Health Group and AAUK.

Diet & Cancer Videos

Lindsey Allan & Nicola Porter, Macmillan Oncology Dietitians, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

Nominated by: Tanya Klopper, Head of Dietetics and SLT , Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust 

Lindsey Allan and Nicola Porter, Royal Surrey Oncology dietitians, have worked with freelance dietitian Adele Hug, to produce user-friendly digital resources containing evidence-based information. 18 diet and cancer videos, the first available in the UK, were launched to coincide with World Cancer Day on February 4th 2023, and are freely available for patients, carers and healthcare professionals both nationally and internationally via the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust website: www.royalsurrey.nhs.uk/dietandcancervideos and YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@RoyalSurreyNHSFoundationTrust/playlists.

The videos are extremely accessible, only 2-3 minutes long, and can be generated in multiple languages using YouTube subtitles. They provide practical help and tips for those struggling with their diet due to their cancer or treatment and who do not necessarily need a referral to a dietitian. Areas covered include: what to eat if losing weight, losing muscle, if you have symptoms such as constipation, nausea, taste changes, difficulty swallowing, and include information on myths such as food restrictions and does sugar feed cancer. This project is a vital resource for all members of the oncology MDT, who can signpost patients to the videos for first line advice.

Since their launch, the videos have had a fantastic response from patients, charities, cancer support groups, media groups and healthcare professionals with over 30,000 views on Twitter in the first few days.

Comments from HCPs have included:
“A great resource for cancer patients. These short videos are very informative.”
“These are brilliant and will be helpful for so many people.”
“These easy to follow videos on cancer and diet deserve a wide audience.”
“Excellent job, these videos have been put together really well, simple, clear advice and gets the message across with no complications! Well done! Looking forward to sharing with patients and colleagues.”

The following cancer charities plan to add links to the videos on their websites: Action Kidney Cancer, Target Ovarian Cancer, Macmillan, Roy Castle, Melanoma Focus and the Prostate Project.

This is an invaluable, long overdue resource, and will enable patients to easily access simple, easy to understand information.

‘Humans of Nutrition’ Podcast

Anna Wheeler & Dr Danielle McCarthy, Nutrition Talent – www.nutritiontalent.com/podcast/

Nominated by: Kate McCulla, Dietitian, Kate McCulla Nutrition & Luxey Dayanandan, Head of Wellness & Nutrition, Restaurant Associates 

Kate McCulla: Nutrition Talent is a nutrition consultancy and recruitment company, established in 2018 and co-founded by Anna Wheeler (RNutr) and Dr Danielle McCarthy (RNutr).

They launched the ‘Humans of Nutrition’ podcast in November 2022, to date releasing an introductory trailer, 9 episodes, and 2 bonus contributions from co-founders Anna and Danielle.

As nutritionists themselves, Anna and Danielle have extensive experience across many different high level nutrition roles and sectors, which enabled them to secure podcast guests that reflect the diversity of areas in which a nutrition professional can apply their skills, and the path to industry positions where nutritionists and dietitians have a crucial role to play in shaping the health landscape. From nutrition smart agriculture, social supermarkets, sustainability, consumer insights and shopper behaviour, and much more, Nutrition Talent’s podcast is as interesting as it is varied, and strikes the balance between being aspirational to nutritionists early in their career and inspirational to more experienced nutritionists.

Amongst all the nutrition ‘noise’, adding a credible nutrition voice is increasingly important. In short, the Nutrition Talent podcast has added a credible resource for everyone with the same aim of helping to improve people and planetary health.

For me personally, although I work part-time with Anna and Danielle at Nutrition Talent alongside my work with patients and delivering behaviour change training, so I have a good insight into the work the company does, this podcast resource has still been enlightening. In a profession where I have experience of being siloed in the past, Nutrition Talent’s podcast has showcased multiple nutrition career pivot options, and while this may not have immediate outcomes, this resource has created career optimism and helped carve a vision for my future direction.

The podcast is available on the Nutrition Talent website (www.nutritiontalent.com/podcast/) or people can access it wherever they usually listen to podcasts.

Luxey Dayanandan: I would like to nominate the ‘Humans of Nutrition’ podcast as a brilliant resource for the Nutritionist community. It is the first of its kind that delves into sharing first hand experience of those working as Nutrition professionals. As a Registered Nutritionist who has been working in the industry over the last decade, it is great to finally have a resource that shares an honest account of the variety of different roles across the nutrition profession and sharing the opportunities and challenges that come up. Plus it is a great form of CPD that is thoroughly enjoyable by hearing the human focused insights.

I listen to the podcast regularly and it has helped support many areas of my role by having the access to the varied experts that are interviewed on the series and take back some of these findings and applying them to my day job. This may be through exploring how some of the further research studies covered could help support product campaigns and initiatives across my business, or even simply connecting with some of the individuals and their specific research area. The podcast set out to help share some honest experiences and it has done just that. It is truly refreshing to hear from such experienced individuals in the nutrition world and without this podcast I would probably never have heard their first hand accounts.

Myrenalnutrition.com 

https://www.myrenalnutrition.com/ – produced by Vitaflo International Ltd

Nominated by: Lucy Evans, Global Marketing Manager, Vitaflo International Ltd 

Myrenalnutrition.com is a website developed by Vitaflo specifically for children with kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease (CKD), irrespective of the underlying cause, affects the daily life of a child and their family, and thus can have a dramatic effect on quality of life. Any dietary restrictions can be challenging to follow and can impact quality of life. Several studies have highlighted how parents of children with CKD have emphasised the need for online information, and there is an increasing reliance on digital media for health information. Vitaflo produced myrenalnutrition.com as a reliable and trusted source of information that healthcare professionals can direct their patients to.

The website features information regarding dietary management, tube feeding, living with kidney disease, recipe ideas and activity ideas. Information is presented in a fun, child friendly manner with animations, recipes and videos to aid the understanding of the dietary management of this condition. The educational animations include information regarding potassium, phosphate and salt, and there is also a 5 video series explaining tube feeding. The website also features interactive potassium posters, which enable children and their families, in collaboration with their healthcare professional, to create bespoke posters which display low, moderate, and high potassium foods and drinks. The posters are designed to help children and their families engage with the low potassium dietary advice they have received from a healthcare professional and thus help to improve adherence to any necessary dietary restrictions.

The digital posters were developed in collaboration with the Paediatric Renal Nutrition Taskforce (PRNT), a group of expert Paediatric Renal Dietitians and Paediatric Nephrologists from across the world. The website also features the ‘food smash’ game – a fun way to teach children about a low potassium, low phosphate or low salt diet. 1,163 users visited the site in 2022, from 83 countries, with bespoke country specific versions of the site being developed. Healthcare Professionals have fedback how they signpost their patients to the website to complement dietary advice and provide an interactive, fun educational resource, to help with engagement and dietary adherence.

Testimonial 1: Paediatric renal dietitian from London, UK
Myrenalnutrition is a source of dietary education for children with renal disease and their families. The information has all been developed and amended in collaboration with dietitians and is accurate and reliable. The resources available are visually appealing and use a combination of games, animations, diet sheets, posters and recipes to help get the message across. This resource is unique, easily accessible online and has proved successful for supporting the dietetic education of children with chronic kidney disease and their families.

Testimonial 2: Clinical academic Paediatric Renal Dietitian, Southampton, UK
‘myrenalnutrition’ is a great resource that compliments traditional advice. Children and their families have different learning styles and needs, this resource helps meet those wider needs. This resource was developed in collaboration with professional organisations, including PRiNG (Paediatric Renal Interest Nutrition Group), and thus provides safe and accessible information for health care education.

Testimonial 3: Paediatric Renal Dietitian, Nottingham, UK
The ‘myrenalnutrition’ resources provide a suite of practical, user-friendly information to support children and young people with CKD, and their family to navigate the daily routines of eating well with CKD. The resources inject interest, inspiration and fun into family meals, including school packed lunch, and how to use herbs and spices to enhance the flavour of meals. The bite-size cook-along videos have proved to be very popular – inspiring children to engage in home cooking, learning new skills and trying different foods. The resources can be easily shared in the clinic setting, either face-to-face or virtual, supporting clinicians verbal and written advice. The inclusion of interactive games, written information, pictorial guides, and videos, provide an attractive and accessible format, addressing the differing learning styles and needs of families.

Testimonial 4: Honorary Senior Lecturer, UK
Myrenalnutrition contains a wealth of information to help families cope with the sometimes fraught management of their child’s nutrition, using attractive visual images, easy to understand text, and engaging animations. An interactive game is a fresh and creative way for children to learn about the potassium and phosphate content of foods. A further interactive feature allows families to create posters where favourite foods with a high, moderate or low potassium content can be selected. I would encourage healthcare professionals working with children with kidney diseases to explore this website and have confidence in recommending it their patients and their families.


New Product of the Year


Compleat® Paediatric (SimpLink®)

Nestlé Health Science – https://www.nestlehealthscience.co.uk/simplink

Nominated by: Nikki Bryan, Senior Brand Manager, Nestlé Health Science 

For healthcare professional use only.

Compleat® Paediatric (SimpLink®) was launched in September 2022. A 250 ml bottle of Compleat® Paediatric with the unique EnFit compatible SimpLink® connection that allows bolus feeding directly into a gastrostomy tube, without the need for a syringe. It can also be connected to a pump, using a universal adaptor or screw-cap giving set.

This new SimpLink® connection offers significant benefits to patients, particularly around convenience and flexibility with feeding, including:

  • Ideal size for travelling
  • Quick and easy bolus feeds on-the-go
  • Encouraging independence for teenage tube feeders to feed themselves
  • Back-pack ready for school
  • Eating together at family mealtimes
  • Smaller bottle may support with less waste – handy for adding Compleat® paediatric to blended diet recipes.

Compleat® Paediatric SimpLink® is the only enteral feed available in the UK that contains food-derived ingredients.1 Results from a published multi-centre study demonstrate outstanding gastrointestinal tolerance, with 81% of dietitians and families reporting GI symptom improvement within 1 week of switching to Compleat® Paediatric (35/43 children).2

Find out more at www.nestlehealthscience.co.uk/simplink or watch the webinar presenting the results of the published study on the N+ Hub.

References: 1. Compleat® paediatric SimpLink contains 13.8% rehydrated chicken and rehydrated vegetables (peas and green beans), peach puree and orange juice from concentrate. Data card Jan 2023. 2. O’Connor G, et al. (2021). Monitor gastrointestinal tolerance in children who have switched to an “enteral formula with food-derived ingredients”: A national, multicenter retrospective chart review (RICIMIX study). NutrClin Pract.; 1-6.

Information for healthcare professional use only. Compleat® paediatric is a food for special medical purposes, for use under medical supervision. NHSc 004 Jan 2023.

Peptisip Energy HP

Nutricia –  https://www.nutricia.co.uk/hcp/pim-products/peptisip-energy-hp.html

Nominated by: Pip Montgomery, Brand Manager, Nutricia

Peptisip Energy HP was launched in the UK and Ireland in September 2022 and is a high energy (1.5 kcal/ml), high protein (7.5 g/100 ml, 20% energy from protein), peptide-based Oral Nutritional Supplement (ONS) for the management of Disease Related Malnutrition in patients with malabsorption and/or maldigestion.

Peptisip Energy HP was designed to provide a peptide-based ONS that was both heavy on protein (15 g/200 ml serving) yet light on the gut for Gastrointestinal (GI) patients and have an excellent tolerability and taste profile.1 Tolerability with Peptisip Energy HP is improved through 100% hydrolysed whey protein2, 3 and enhanced by a fat blend that includes 60% MCT.*

As a result, in its ACBS trial, Peptisip Energy HP was shown to:

  • Reach an average of 81% compliance across all patients1
  • Reduce the incidence and intensity of 7 out of 8 key GI symptoms compared to baseline1**
  • Increase energy (kcal) intake by 12% and protein intake by 17% compared to baseline1**
  • Have a taste and thickness enjoyed by 73% of participants.1

Peptisip Energy HP offers the highest levels of sodium and potassium compared to all other peptide-based ONS in the UK, which could help minimise electrolyte losses that commonly occur in GI patients.4

High levels of Vitamin D (4ug/200 ml) could also help to meet the nutritional requirements in this patient group where Vitamin D deficiency risk is high.5, 6***

As Peptisip Energy HP was developed with patient tolerance in mind, its osmolarity is the lowest compared to all other 1.5 kcal/ml peptide-based ONS in the UK.

Peptisip Energy HP joins our peptide-based tube feed, Nutrison Peptisorb Plus HEHP, to create a high energy, high protein peptide-based range of feeds. Through having similar formulations, this range offers support to GI patients throughout their recovery journey.

This information is intended for Healthcare Professionals only.

Peptisip Energy HP is a Food for Special Medical purposes for the dietary management of disease related malnutrition in patients with malabsorption and/or maldigestion and must be used under medical supervision.

References: 1. Nutricia ACBS trial, data on file 2022. 2. Alexander DD BL, Elkayam L, Nguyen DL. (2016). Nutritional and health benefits of semi-elemental diets: A comprehensive summary of the literature. World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther.; 2: 306-19. 3. Boirie Y, Dangin M, Gachon P, et al. (1997). Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.; 94 (26): 14930-5. 4. MOE AE. (1995). Electrolyte balance in gastrointestinal disease. Calif Med.; 83(5): 339-42. 5. Forbes A., Eschere J., Herbuterne X. et al. (2017) ESPEN guidelines: Clinical nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Nutr.; 26(2): 321-47. 6. Arvanitakis M., Ockenga J., et al. (2020) ESPEN guidelines: Clinical nutrition in acute and chronic pancreatitis. Clin Nutr.; 39(3): 612-631.

*MCT = Medium Chain Triglycerides
** Prior to commencing the study patients were taking a different oral nutritional supplement.
*** Helps meet Vitamin D requirements in patients with impaired GI function who are at risk of Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency.
†Accurate in MIMs, March 2023.

VSL# Fibre

Nordic Pharma – https://www.vsl3.co.uk/pages/about-vsl-fibre

Nominated by: Rachel Redman, Marketing Manager, Nordic Pharma 

For the 1 in 7 people in the UK struggling with constipation, VSL# Fibre offers a unique combination of fibre, poly-biotics and hibiscus extract, to help maintain a healthy bowel and facilitate intestinal transit. These natural ingredients are designed to gently relieve symptoms of constipation, replenish the gut microbiota, and naturally restore a healthy toilet routine:

  • Relieve: Psyllium Husk is recommended by NICE for the self-management of constipation, as it’s three times more effective than wheat bran in increasing stool output. Psyllium Husk swells to form a gel-like substance when in contact with water, helping to ease bowel movements. It has also been associated with significant changes in gut microbiota in both healthy adults and people with constipation.
  • Replenish: Osmotic laxative use has been shown to destroy the gastrointestinal mucous barrier and alter gut microbial composition, with long-lasting effect. VSL# Fibre contains the same 8 strains of bacteria found in VSL#3, offering 30 Billion CFU per serving. These strains have been proven to survive the harsh conditions of the stomach and contribute to the diversity of good gut bacteria.
  • Restore: Alongside lifestyle management, VSL# Fibre could help restore a healthy toilet routine, facilitating intestinal transit and helping to maintain a healthy bowel. It can easily slot into patients’ daily routine, by mixing it with 200 ml water for a delicious fruity drink.

Since its launch in July 2022, a growing number of nutritionists and dietitians are now recommending VSL# Fibre to their clients and patients who are struggling with recurrent constipation. Its unique combination of evidence-based psyllium husk and diverse mix of live cultures (30 Billion cfu per sachet) is why VSL# Fibre should be nominated for CN’s New Product of the Year Award.


Community Nutrition Professional of the Year


Kindly sponsored by Baxter

With products, technologies and therapies available in over 100 countries, Baxter is building upon the company’s rich heritage to advance the next generation of healthcare innovations.

For more information about Baxter visit: www.baxterhealthcare.co.uk or follow us on LinkedIn. Baxter is a registered trademark of Baxter International Inc.


Tahira Amin

Community Advocate and Dietitian, Abilities Together

Nominated by: Nusrat Kauser, Director, Primary Care Dietitians 

Tahira is the founding member of Abilities Together, a unique community-based organisation, using dietetic knowledge for improving health outcomes by tackling health inequalities within deprived areas of the Bradford District. Tahira is also a Primary Care Network dietitian, delivering perhaps the country’s only dietitian and GP-led Very Low Carbohydrate Programme. From a one dietitian-led programme, Tahira transformed the project to deliver multiple programmes, recruited another dietitian and showed a need for greater GP time on this unique venture, benefiting the patients of AWC Modality Partnership in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Having been featured in the Gardener’s World magazine and BBC’s Online ‘Coronavirus doctor’s diary,’ the articles focused on Tahira’s attempts in tackling obesity through gardening and community-led activities. Abilities Together has become a recognised organisation within Bradford, known for addressing the needs of marginalised communities within inner city Bradford. One example is the development of a community garden in a deprived area where anti-social behaviour is rife.

Having received funding from multiple sources, the community garden has become a safe place for residents to use. The initiatives designed by Tahira under the banner of Abilities Together aim to empower residents to increase health awareness. One such project is to raise funds for a defibrillator in the community as well as to encourage families to grow their own food, using local allotments.

Some of Tahira’s work includes her work with a Bradford-based hospital’s diabetes paediatric unit to support children and young people with diabetes type 2. The project identified a gap in paediatric diabetes services, Tahira is in the process of trialling the newly designed programme.

In addition to her collaborative work with statutory health services, Tahira has been supporting the Bradford Institute for Health Research, by organising participants for research focus groups. She herself has actively participated in many focus groups for BIHR. This has encouraged her own journey of pursuing a PhD. Her personal qualities and dedication has attracted the support of BIHR which has resulted in the Institute in selecting Abilities Together as one of the four organisations they will work with this year, while being commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research.

I believe Tahira a worthy contender for the award and wish her the very best.

Rehab Dietitian Team (Debbie McGugan, Pamela McMullan, Katie Wilson, Aislinn Bryson and Aaron Currans)

Community Rehab Dietetic Team, Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Nominated by: Bridget O’Neill, Ward Sister, Dalriada Community Hospital NHSCT 

The Rehab Dietitian Team have led an innovative project on the prevalence of sarcopenia & frailty and how this compares to MUST scores of patients admitted into our community hospital.

They have followed this up by developing and delivering ‘nutrition for recovery’ training for nursing and support staff. This has assisted in raising awareness of sarcopenia/frailty/malnutrition and appropriate nutritional interventions.

They have also been developing patient educational resources, with patient involvement, to allow for a tiered approach to nutrition education of those at risk.

Staff have been enthusiastically promoting Dietetics and the power of nutritional interventions within the area of recovery/rehab.

The team have been involved in a quality improvement project and deserve recognition of their dedication to their work, which has gone over and beyond to provide better patient care.

Aliya Porter

Registered Nutritionist, Porter Nutrition

Nominated by: Zoe Griffiths, Freelance Registered Nutritionist (Public Health), ZG Nutrition 

Aliya uses her nutrition skills well beyond her paid work. She is quick to share expertise about nutrition with colleagues, politicians, and other professionals for the benefit of health, particularly championing those who are vulnerable. Examples of groups she has championed include children who are looked after and carers (2 groups which are often overlooked when it comes to food). Her work with carers includes working in partnership with a local charity Carers Manchester to run healthy eating workshops. She then went above and beyond to interview carers for lived experience stories to share with the wider profession.

She campaigns for healthy food for all children, supporting the call for universal free school meals in schools and nurseries. She also campaigns for the reduction in processed meat in the meals of children in order to reduce health inequalities, for example supporting the World Cancer Research Fund Great Sarnie Swap.

She is active on social media, promoting simple, affordable and unpressured ways to feed children and adults. She supports the work of the local Maternity Voices Partnership and other strategic partnerships in order to raise the profile of nutrition from pregnancy right through to adolescence. This has included creating free downloadable resources on nutrition in pregnancy, early years nutrition, and reducing the fuel we use when cooking. She makes a point of being available in the community to answer questions about nutrition whether it is whilst running a local toddler group as a volunteer, in social media groups or at the school gate.


Social Media Personality of the Year


Kindly sponsored by Yakult

Yakult remains at the forefront of scientific research, education, and is committed to supporting healthcare professionals through the Social Media Personality of the Year Award.
yakult.co.uk/hcp


Zoe Griffiths

Registered Nutritionist (Public Health), ZGNutrition
Twitter: @ZG_Nutrition

Nominated by: Aliya Porter, Registered Nutritionist, Porter Nutrition

Zoe has built a large social media following across our profession and beyond, particularly on Twitter and LinkedIn. Through her posts, she has given fantastic levels of support to Nutrition Students and Graduates through regular posting of jobs and opportunities within the profession and is the go-to person for Nutrition career support, offering advice to hundreds of Nutrition Students and Graduates and directly supporting over 400 Nutrition Graduates to get their first Nutrition job in the last 2 years.

She has also developed a reputation as someone to follow to keep abreast of the news in the public health nutrition world with her regular sharing of nutrition and food news, events, webinars, reports and comments on improving nutrition for all, particularly the most vulnerable. Many organisations now directly contact Zoe to ask her to share information about their new reports or campaigns on her social media. Zoe has also created a number of resources to share on social media, including her popular ‘What’s in Season’ infographics.

Zoe is not afraid to raise her voice on important issues including the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis on health or the need to extend Free School Meals. Zoe is an active campaigner and uses her platform in a number of national campaigns including the World Cancer Research Fund Cancer Awareness Week, Sugar Awareness Week, Salt Awareness Week, BNF Healthy Eating Week, the #FeedtheFuture campaign, the #SeasonalVeg campaign from Veg Power and is also one of the experts for the #SimplyVeg campaign from Veg Power.

Zoe also gives generously of her time to promote the Nutrition profession, both in terms of individuals and in building a good reputation for nutrition professionals and passionately advocates for the Nutrition profession through her social media.

Long Li

Lecturer in Dietetics and Registered Dietitian, University of Surrey
Twitter: @LongLiPro

Nominated by: Long Li, Lecturer in Dietetics and Registered Dietitian, University of Surrey, Georgina Allison Russell, Specialist Bariatric Dietitian, NHS, Lucy Diston, Student, University of Surrey, Naeema Austin-Quiery, Student, University of Surrey, and Nusrat Kausar, Clinical Director, Primary Care Dietitians

Long Li: I nominate myself for Social Media Personality of the Year. As a passionate advocate for dietetics, I have been highly active on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, dedicating my efforts to promoting the dietetics profession through various campaigns.

Upon joining the University of Surrey as a lecturer, I established and managed the @SurreyDietetics Instagram and Twitter accounts. These platforms showcase student activities, promote dietetic education, and highlight dietitians’ experiences in higher education, inspiring prospective students to consider the field.

This year, I launched the innovative “@SurreyDietetics Let’s Insta Live Chat Series” on Instagram, featuring live chats with dietitians from diverse fields discussing unique topics not typically covered in webinars or podcasts. The Let’s Insta Live Chat Series, with six episodes so far, is inclusive and accessible to nutrition and dietetic students in the UK and internationally. Popular episodes include ‘Working in Private Practice’ and ‘Applying for Your First Band 5 Dietitian Jobs’. The Series is now available on YouTube for even greater access: www.youtube.com/@SurreyDietetics. Students have praised the Series, with comments like: “A brilliant idea that Long Li should take all credit for; most people I’ve spoken to have said positive things!” This encouraging feedback fuels my passion and dedication.

I am also organising an online dietetic job fair, connecting dietetic students with NHS Dietetic Departments, benefiting both students and departments by fostering connections and collaboration opportunities.

In addition to my work at the University of Surrey, I have previously set up and managed the BDA Gastroenterology Specialist Group, North Middlesex University Hospital Dietetic Department, and BDA PENG Twitter accounts. Through these channels, I have organised and participated in numerous successful social media campaigns, such as Dietitians Week and Nutrition and Hydration Week.

My professional Twitter and Instagram accounts (@LongLiPro) have garnered positive feedback from colleagues and students who appreciate my unique sense of humour and authenticity.

In conclusion, my innovative approach to social media, coupled with my unwavering dedication to promoting the dietetics profession, makes me a strong candidate for Social Media Personality of the Year. Recognition for my efforts would be a powerful motivator, inspiring me to continue with my work on social media.

Georgina Allison Russell: Since Long was a student with myself he has always wanted to improve the dietetic community and share his knowledge. Now that he is a course leader he enjoys spreading his knowledge on Instagram. He has done this through numerous Instagram lives with different dietitians (to show the breadth of roles a dietitian can work within) and posting bitesize information directly to his grid.

He really is a credit to the profession and I do believe that he will continue to improve the lives of his students and the dietetic community with or without this nomination. He truly is deserving of this award for his fun personality alone.

Lucy Diston: Long is a lecturer at the University of Surrey who provides educational and engaging reels on Instagram related to nutrition and dietetics. This inspires students (and non-students) to absorb dietetic knowledge in a fun and creative way. The content of Long’s post are relatable and interesting, for example demonstrating how individuals can even make higher fibre choices when it comes to chocolate! Long’s positive attitude inspires students to be their best and often holds live chats on the Surrey University Dietetic Instagram, where he speaks to inspiring individuals, providing students with useful clinical information, increasing awareness around certain areas and providing advice on the employment opportunities post graduating – an example of this is Long organising a jobs fair for the current cohort of final year students – ensuring they are aware of every opportunity available to them.

Long goes above and beyond to make sure the next generation of students are as well informed as possible and are aware of all the opportunities available to them. The information on Instagram is provided in such a way it is easily digestible for non-students, increasing individuals awareness of nutrition and dietetics.

Naeema Austin-Quiery: Long is a very enthusiastic and inspiring lecturer. He strives to make lectures engaging, intuitive, collaborative and informative. He is active on social media and has started a Live Instagram series for students and others that pertains to nutrition and health with guests (other health professionals). This is really popular and interesting, covering topics from Ramadan to Entrepreneurship! I always look forward to seeing what he posts next and what he has to say! He’s worked hard to master technology to improve his social media input and is a very inspiring individual.

Nusrat Kausar: I want to nominate Long Li (@LongLiPro) for the award. Long has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to promoting the dietetics profession across various social media platforms, distinguishing himself as a truly exceptional figure in the field.

Long’s passion for raising awareness about the dietetic profession has profoundly impacted numerous followers. His leadership in establishing and managing social media accounts for the BDA Gastroenterology Group and BDA PENG (previously), North Middlesex University Hospital’s Dietetic Department (previously), and now the University of Surrey’s Dietetics programme. This impressive track record exemplifies his strong passion and devotion towards raising awareness for this cause.

His innovative social media campaigns, such as “A Day of Dietitians” during Dietitians Week, have successfully showcased the diverse roles and specialties within the profession. As a lecturer at the University of Surrey, Long continues to engage the community by creating and maintaining the @SurreyDietetics Twitter and Instagram accounts, offering valuable insights into the academic side of dietetics, the contemporary dietetic education and featuring student dietitians.

Long’s exceptional initiative, the Instagram live chat series on the @SurreyDietetics platform, sets him apart from others. These live chats provide an interactive, inclusive experience that transcends conventional webinars. Long covers a range of engaging topics, such as studying nutrition and dietetics as an international student, private practice, business entrepreneurship, job opportunities, and cultural aspects like Ramadan. His live chat series not only informs, but also fosters, connections within the profession. These live chats are inclusive, allowing students from other universities in the UK and around the world to access them.

Long’s genuine and relatable approach is evident in his live chats and his professional Instagram account, where he shares his daily life as a lecturer, providing an authentic glimpse into dietetic lectureship.

Long’s commitment to his profession as a nutrition and dietetic expert has resulted in exceptional achievements as a lecturer and promoter of the dietetics field via social media. Recognizing his efforts would also present a meaningful occasion to celebrate an exceptional individual from the BAME community. I firmly endorse Long Li as a deserving nominee for this award.

Ravinder Sagoo

Clinical Lead Renal Dietitian, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust UK
Twitter: @RavinderSagoo

Nominated by: Bruno Mafrici, Clinical Specialist Renal Dietitian, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Elizabeth Roper, Chief Dietetic Technician, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, Mrs Nicola J Straw,  Dietetic Assistant, NUH,  Oscar Walton, Specialist Renal Dietitian, Nottingham University Hospital, Sarah Sidani, Team Leader – Renal Dietitian, Nottingham University Hospital, and Tracy Lovejoy, Critical Care Dietitian, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust – City Hospital Campus. 

Bruno Mafrici: Ravinder has been very active on social media, especially on Instagram. Over the past year she has written and published posts for patients affected with chronic kidney disease (CKD). These Instagram posts directed at patients show her commitment to patients and patient information. CKD is complex and can be difficult for some patients to understand the key message. Her posts are welcomed from patients as well as from students and dietitians, new to renal. Ravinder has shown initiative and invested her own time in research and writing these posts – which are evidence based and of high quality. Ravinder also promoted the profession of the renal dietitian and really deserves the social medial award for this year.

Elizabeth Roper: Ravinder really is the Social Media Personality of the Year. She exhumes enthusiasm and knowledge while remaining compassionate and thinking about the whole person.

She provides an extremely valuable resource for both patients and other healthcare professionals with such enthusiasm and flare. Her commitment to patients is second to none and she will go to any lengths to get the message across, using very imaginative methods of presentation that catch the eye. It is especially refreshing to see Ravinder tackle the times of year that can be so tricky for a renal patient and finds ways to celebrate in a way that is suitable for them, and is more than happy to deal with problems that can occur.

Ravinder’s hashtag of ‘love your kidneys, love your food’ really sums up the message she gets out in a very professional manner, and is very well respected within the team.

Her posts are very regular, never boring and always very informative to every level of reader. Ravinder keeps up to date with all research and is happy to embrace every method of social media, often leaving colleagues astounded at her knowledge and enthusiasm.

When you look through the posts from Ravinder’s social media you are immediately taken by the blasts of colour and eye catching illustrations, all of which are highly professional. She is always the first to promote the profession and tries to find new ways to inform and inspire.

All of this has taken place while overcoming considerable health challenges of her own and her close family.

Ravinder is the person you would want your own family to take advice from.

Nicola J Straw: Ravinder is a massive presence on Instagram – her posts are so informative but also fun and interesting to look at. She makes you want to read them which makes it easy for her to engage with so many people. I work in Dietetics but have learnt so much from Ravinder. I am also a Kidney patient (I had an SPK transplant 10 years ago) and I find the kidney care posts really helpful, I’ve probably found out more from Ravinder than I have anywhere else. I think it helps that Ravinder’s Mother has a kidney problem so she can speak from personal experience. I think this makes her posts much more authentic. She dedicates a lot of her own time to this and she definitely deserves credit for this. I believe she is your winner.

Oscar Walton: Ravinder frequently and consistently produces high quality, informative and evidence driven resources which she shares on social media @renal_dietitian_uk with the aim of empowering and informing individuals with or with an interest in the dietetic care for renal impairment (both chronic and acute).

She has appeared on the Kidney warrior podcast, produces visual slide shows regarding research, renal diets and different aspects of kidney disease and does a huge amount to highlight the role of dietetic in kidney management to an audience of service users, medical professionals and carers.

She is showing service users and medical professionals how much you can have and do whilst managing kidney disease in an informative and easily approachable medium and her efforts should be recognised.

Sarah Sidani: I would like to nominate Ravinder Sagoo for all the posts she puts on Instagram and her active participation on social media. The guidance and support she offers patients and their significant others goes far beyond the expectations of her day to day role. She is extremely passionate about making easy to understand posts and making then relevant, topical and visually attractive.

Ravinder is keen to promote renal dietitians and the services they can provide in innovative ways. Recently Ravinder has been involved in creating a podcast for Diary of a Kidney Warrior discussing the South Asian diet. This is something she is particularly keen to raise awareness of and to also address barriers to accessing healthcare within the Asian community. Ravinder regularly share her recipes and passion for cooking on her instagram page and also on her TikTok account, making practical application of advice appealing and realistic to all. Ravinder is not only a true asset to our team but to wider renal dietetics and the profession. I am proud to be her team leader.

Tracy Lovejoy: Ravinder has used Instagram to reach out to a range of kidney patients via social media. Her posts include various information which aim to, and succeed in, striking the balance between providing professional and accurate information with positivity and messages to help people be kind to themselves. Examples of her posts includes ’10 reasons to see a kidney dietitian’, ‘Are herbal supplements safe for Chronic Kidney Disease and transplant recipients?’ and another focusing on 2023 by acknowledging achievements of 2022, even if people feel that the last year didn’t go to plan.

Ravinder has also been involved in making podcasts including one about the South Asian Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease.

In today’s world of social media it is so important that we have qualified dietitians making scientifically sound messages and are delivered in a kind, positive way. Ravinder’s posts achieve this.


Paediatric Nutrition Professional of the Year


Kindly sponsored by Fresenius Kabi

Fresenius Kabi is delighted to be sponsoring the CN Paediatric Professional of the Year award for 2023.
www.fresenius-kabi.com/gb/


Tanya Martin

Dietitian, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Nominated by: Hannah Graham, Staff Nurse, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust 

Tanya is an outstanding asset to our ward. We see a lot of young people admitted with eating disorders for re-feeding plans. Tanya builds incredible relationships with each and every young person and their family. She has a very flexible approach to try and accommodate each individual prefernace but is also firm with them to ensure they know the boundaries. Tanya is very aware of the emotional impact caring for this patient group has on nursing staff on the ward and always goes above and beyond to ensure our well-being is being acknowledged. Tanya is well respected by her patients and I’ll be honest, we are a little lost without her at the weekends!

Tanya is always at the end of a phone to answer questions, signpost and never hesitates to come to the ward ASAP to offer clarification and support. Tanya is creative in her approach and works so well with other teams. She is the biggest advocate for her patients, if Tanya wants something doing, it happens! As well as being an outstanding dietitian, Tanya is also a genuinely loved colleague of many she always brings a big smile to the ward and overflows with positivity. She is a shining example of a dietitian and represents the profession so well. She is a true unsung hero on the ward. We are so grateful for all she does.

Susan Meredith

Clinical Lead Paediatric Dietetics and Enteral Feeding, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Chair of the BDA Paediatric Specialist Group

Nominated by: Bahee Van de Bor, Freelance Paediatric Dietitian and Vice-chair of the BDA Paediatric Specialist Group, UKKIDSNUTRITION

Sue’s exceptional leadership skills, dedication, expertise and passion for advancing the profession of paediatric dietetics have greatly impacted the British Dietetic Association (BDA) paediatric specialist group (PSG).

Sue’s tenure as Chair has led the committee to achieve outstanding results, such as the production of the Blended Diet Toolkit, the development of everyday dietetic practice educational resources, and contribution to a number of national nutrition-related policies and consultations on childhood nutrition issues. A few examples include ACBS consultation on oral nutrition supplements, the National Food Strategy, the Maternal and Child Health NICE guidelines, and PEN updates.

As a result, the group was awarded the BDA Specialist Group of the Year Award in 2020, which is a testament to Sue’s leadership skills and contributions to the committee, as the competition to win this award is high.

Sue has actively steered the group towards key policies, projects, and pieces of work, demonstrating her extensive knowledge of paediatric dietetics. She has liaised with the Department of Health on important issues such as infant and young child feeding policies and the high-profile childhood obesity strategy. Sue’s expertise has also been crucial in the development of undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes for paediatric dietitians. She currently lectures on Master’s modules and is currently joint lead on one of the Advanced Professional Practice modules whilst both lecturing at this level and undergraduate.

Sue’s commitment to excellence extends beyond her leadership responsibilities. She has chaired joint and standalone webinars that provide excellent CPD opportunities for dietitians. Sue has also been extremely supportive of her committee members, particularly in the review of toolkits and position statements, such as those related to food poverty and ARFID, which have enhanced patient care and safety.

Despite juggling her own busy family and work caseload, Sue has always made time for the PSG committee. She has empowered committee members to take on novel pieces of work and supported them to complete them to a high standard, which demonstrates her exceptional leadership skills.

On behalf of the PSG committee, we are delighted to nominate Sue for the Paediatric Professional of the Year award. Her contributions to the profession of paediatric dietetics have been truly inspiring and deserving of recognition.

Natalie Yerlett

Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian – Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) and Dermatology, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust

Nominated by: Alisa Morris, Paediatric Dietitian – Renal, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust 

Natalie is an inspirational and selfless colleague, who is an absolute dream to work with.

Within the last year, Natalie has had 3 journal articles published about EB, dermatology and allergies. This includes one publication which took Natalie over 8 years to collect the retrospective data, showing her determination and what she calls her “Yerlett” spirit to never giving up!

Natalie always takes such pride in her patients and speaks highly of their bravery. She acts as an advocate for them in many ways and really commits to her role. Last year she completed her supplementary prescribing course so that she can prescribe micronutrients for her own patients, who are frequently low in micronutrients due to huge losses via their skin. She is also brilliantly caring and talks to her patients and their families with such compassion.

She has done a terrific job launching her social media page “Kids Coeliac Dietitian”, which has received numerous positive praise from parents all over the UK. She posts messages of hope and motivation that a gluten free diet can be enjoyable and doable, as well as providing delicious homemade recipes and answering weird and wonderful questions such as “is meat produced from grain fed animals gluten free?”. Natalie champions the gluten free diet and living with coeliac disease, which stems from her own experience living with coeliac disease and being a parent to a little one with coeliac disease. Natalie and her daughter have attended multiple Allergy and FreeFrom shows all over the UK in the last year, manning the Coeliac UK stand, providing support and education to those who visited the stand. She has also helped write the BDA’s first coeliac disease diet sheet in the last year.

Natalie, we are all so proud of you and all you achieve!


The Geoff Simmonett ‘Commitment to Patient Care’ Award


Kindly sponsored by Nutricia Homeward

The Nutricia Homeward Nursing Service is the largest dedicated enteral nursing service in the UK. It has been supporting enterally fed community patients for 25 years.
www.nutriciahomeward.co.uk


Alison Ashworth

Paediatric Diabetic Dietitian, East Lancashire NHS Trust

Nominated by: Amanda Wall, Paediatric Team Lead, East Lancashire NHS Trust 

Alison has a wealth of clinical knowledge, embracing new technologies to improve patient care and outcomes. She has always ensured that patients have been at the heart of service care, and provision. Alison has organised weekend family walks for our young people with diabetes to promote positive patient engagement and the importance of exercise within their daily lives.

Alison is department lead for professional promotion. This has involved producing written information, promotional videos, liaison with the BDA, and attending multiple career events for young people aged 14-18 years.

Alison has taken many students as well as qualified dietitians under her wing to promote paediatrics. Passing on her wealth of knowledge to everyone who has been fortunate enough to work with her. Alison is an active member of the NW paediatric DM dietitians’ network and has delivered training at master’s level for the BDA paediatric module 2.

Alison is a regular member of the paediatric diabetes peer review panels, visiting several paediatric diabetes departments across the country. At her most recent peer review she received the following feedback from the department: “your time and efforts both in preparation and on the day are greatly appreciated, and you handled the sessions very positively and tactfully. I would particularly like to thank you for delivering the feedback on the service’s challenges and recommendations so positively and in such detail. You worked collaboratively to get the best out of the day, and we really appreciate your flexibility and expertise.”

Within her role for type 2 prevention and complications of excess weight Alison has been involved with our integrated care broad to identify services already operating to support children, young people and their families to reduce these risks. She has provided training to council employees as well as volunteers from local charities. This has ensured engagement for ethnic minorities and those in socially deprived areas.

Alison has been heavily involved in a national quality improvement project related to transition services for Diabetic patients. Aiming for a smoother transition leading to improved patient engagement and outcomes.

Cheryl Southall 

Acute Paediatric Dietitian Team Lead, Dudley Group Foundation Trust

Nominated by: Victoria Scriven, Paediatric Dietitian Trainee, Dudley Group Foundation Trust 

I first met Cheryl when I was a student on my B placement at Dudley Group. Cheryl has a welcoming personality and she soon made me feel part of the Dudley team. So much so in fact that I applied for a job to work with Cheryl and the rest of the Paediatric dietetic team!

I started working with Cheryl in September 2022, and the support and training she has given me has been amazing! She has helped with my personal and professional develop and always done it with a smile! Daily, she offers me support and helps me develop my clinical skills.

However, the reason I’m nominating her is because of her absolute dedication to her patients. Cheryl goes above and beyond for her patients – whether it is seeing them in clinic out of hours, so school is not missed, or offering increased support to those parents who need it. All in all, she gives 110% to the children of Dudley who need her! Cheryl has an amazing ability to make sure that every child and family she meets are supported during their journey.

Cheryl has an amazing ability to put families and children at ease during appointments and offers relevant and practical advice – she has endless knowledge in children friendly snacks that are suitable for the various allergy patients she sees! She is able to reassure families with professional and practical advice and does all this with a big smile of her face!

She also finds time in her very busy schedule to train two new members of her team (myself included) and continue to develop her amazing support worker! Cheryl understands the many benefits of a happy, qualified and supported team!

Cheryl is an inspiration to a new qualified dietitian like myself. Families in Dudley are very lucky to have her!

Caryn Straker

Dietitian, Nightingale Hammerson

Nominated by: Jenny Pattinson, CEO, Nightingale Hammerson 

Our Dietitian, Caryn is part of a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team. Our aim is to ensure our Residents, currently aged between 69 and 103 can maximise their quality of life and enjoy their food.

Nightingale Hammerson is the only UK Care Home to provide an on-site Dietitian. This ensures residents’ meals are nutritious, plentiful and that Residents are sufficiently hydrated to maintain good health. Where a resident needs support with eating or drinking, Caryn observes their mealtimes. Together, they facilitate a plan of action with the resident, including specialised cutlery and crockery to enable better control, maintain independence and enhance well-being.

Caryn runs regular education sessions for our teams around mealtime support. This enables them to be aware of how they can best provide help, maintain dignity. She holds monthly Nutrition, Hydration and Tissue Viability Meetings across the care team and educates on how to fortify food to make it more nutritious. Caryn regularly communicates with the catering team and across the Households, to ensure everyone understands the need to ensure residents’ nutrition needs are met.

Caryn observes residents at mealtimes and will notice small things that could prevent a resident from eating well, such as a challenging seating posture or feeling uncomfortable where they are sitting in the dining room. This could invariably impact their food intake.

Caryn is responsible for overseeing all the nutritional needs for our 200 Residents across both sites. This is a huge undertaking, coupled with communicating and engaging with over 150 members of the care team. She is responsible for ensuring monthly and sometimes weekly health checks take place and that all care plans are updated regularly and are accurate. She has to monitor and manage the interventions for each resident to ensure the type of food is tailored to the individual resident. Some residents need finger foods, or minced foods others are on a diabetic diet and some need to have higher calorie options. Juggling the needs of so many residents is no easy feat!


Clinical Nutrition Professional of the Year


Kindly sponsored by Nestlé Health Science

Nestlé Health Science empowers healthier lives through nutrition.
www.nestlehealthscience.co.uk/


Angela Cole, Rachel Russell and the Clinical Supervision Group

National Paediatric Parenteral Nutrition Nurses

Nominated by: Angela Cole, Lead Nutrition Nurse, MSE NHS Trust 

The nominees were on the committee for the National Pediatric Parenteral Nutrition Nurses (NPPNN) Group, and both took the further study pathway as a Professional Nurse Advocate. During national meetings clinical supervision was identified as being needed, but not available directly in the NHS teams. Many of the NPPNN nurses were redeployed during Covid – this experience had not been given the attention personally, and professionally, when they returned to busy services etc. Many of the NPPNN nurses were also experiencing increasing amounts of safeguarding within caseloads. A clinical supervision programme was designed, and funding achieved by consolidating the teamwork between NHS and homecare nursing for paediatric home parenteral nutrition children and families. Funding was crucial to ensure that universal support was available.

The feedback from the nurses that took part in the programme was extremely positive – more than we could have expected when we designed the sessions. Due to the success of this programme, the National Nutrition Nurses Group have welcomed the innovation and the team will work together to make this an annual programme to promote clinical supervision, quality improvement, well-being and career development/well-being. The feedback attachment also demonstrates that the nurses that attended will take parts of the programme forward into their practice and that of colleagues.

Emma Gaskin

Dietitian, Royal Stoke University Hospital

Nominated by: Phill Johnston, Dietitian, Northern Care Alliance 

Emma has chaired the BDA Critical Care Specialist Group since October 2021.

This was a very difficult time to take on this role with coming out of the COVID pandemic. Motivation amongst critical care dietitians was low and this was the same within the committee. Emma’s enthusiasm and hard work has helped take the group from strength to strength (and she did part of this whilst travelling around the world).

She goes above and beyond in her commitment to the role and dedicates countless hours to all aspects of the CCSG. She keeps the team motivated and working together and has helped expand the committee.
The committee simply would not have worked without Emma for the last 2 years.

Amy Gittins

Gastro Specialist Dietitian, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

Nominated by: Katrina Clifton, Gastro Clinical Lead Dietitian, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust 

As a specialist gastroenterology dietitian, Amy has gone above and beyond what is expected in her day-to-day role, demonstrating exceptional dedication and commitment to her patients, colleagues, and profession.

One of the most outstanding contributions of Amy Gittins is the establishment of the North West Gastro Dietitians’ Group. This group provides a forum for dietitians working in gastroenterology to share knowledge, skills, and expertise. It has become a valuable resource for dietitians, enabling them to collaborate, learn from one another, and improve the care they provide to patients. The group has representation from almost all the NHS Trusts in the North West.

Furthermore, Amy has demonstrated a deep commitment to her patients, always striving to provide the highest quality of care. She is known for her exceptional communication skills, providing clear and concise explanations to patients and their families, and ensuring they fully understand their medical conditions and the role of nutrition in their care.

Amy is also a strong advocate for her profession, as she volunteered on the BDA Gastroenterology Sub-Group for over two years, regularly writes for clinical nutrition magazines and has been instrumental in the development of new education classes provided at Wirral University Hospital Trust for patients newly diagnosed with coeliac disease.

Overall, Amy is an exceptional dietitian who has made significant contributions to her profession, patients, and colleagues. I cannot think of a more deserving candidate for the Clinical Nutrition Profession of the Year, and I strongly recommend her for this recognition.


CN Writer of the Year


Kindly sponsored by Nutrinovo

As the company behind the innovative ‘ProSource’ and ‘HyFiber’ product ranges, we are proud to be sponsoring this prestigious award once again – recognising the nutrition professionals who go ‘above and beyond’ to make a difference.


The individuals that write for CN Magazine – your No.1 clinical, medical and health nutrition publication – are an integral component to it’s success.  Our authors go to great lengths to research, write and produce articles that are interesting, topical and share best practice.  Below you will find details of the contributors that have stood out during 2022/2023.

Kiran Atwal

Registered Dietitian

Frances Greer1 and Kathryn Campbell2

1. ICU and Neurosurgical Registered Dietitian, 2. Neurosurgical Registered Dietitian

Bruno Mafrici

MSc, RD, SP
Clinical Specialist Renal Dietitian, Lecturer in Clinical Nutrition, Dietetics and
Nutrition Department, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham


Sustainability Initiative Award


Kindly sponsored by Nutricia Flocare

Nutricia Flocare, supporting 30,000 home enterally fed patients with safe delivery of their nutrition and hydration.
www.nutriciaflocare.com/Flocare2020/index.php


Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Team

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Nominated by: Elaine Greenman, Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian/ Team Leader, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust 

To increase capacity during a period of low staffing levels, we set up virtual group sessions for parents of infants and children with suspected/diagnosed cow’s milk allergy; a patient group where advice and treatment is relatively prescriptive and generic and makes up ¼ of referrals the team receive.

To facilitate this, we collated evidence-based advice that has routinely been delivered in 1-to-1 face to face, video or telephone consultations (1 x 40-minute initial consultation and 1-3 subsequent 20 x minute review consultations) into a ‘one stop shop’ solution of a 2.5-hour group session comfortably managing 15 parents/carers at a time. The virtual group session is introduced by 1 x Paediatric Dietitian and an administrator (to help with registration, technical issues and flow) and consists of a 45-minute recorded PowerPoint presentation, followed by up to 45 minutes of verbal discussion, followed by 60 minutes of muted written chat discussion (where required).

87% of patients in the post-CMA group data were discharged in a specific period, compared to only 26% in the equivalent time period of 2021 (pre-CMA group). Setting up groups has reduced total contact time between Dietitians and patients by 75% and total cost savings equates to ~£4,131 (79%) in a 6-month period, which does not include savings made in the administration of groups compared to 1 to 1 consultations.

In addition to reduced patient contact time and cost savings, our service/patients have seen:

  • Dramatically reduced waiting times; referral to treatment time of 4-8 weeks which in turn enables the delivery of correct and timely advice to a patient group that rely on appropriate formulas and weaning advice in the first few months of life
  • Quicker symptom management of infants and children and reduced anxiety of parents/carers
  • Thorough delivery of advice in a forum where parents can share and learn from each other
  • Convenient treatment at home
  • A large contribution to sustainability by reducing travel time, reducing administration (paper for letters etc).

Lisa Ledger and Rhiannon Matthews

Greener AHP and Sustainability Leads, Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust

Nominated by: Clare Pettinger, Lecturer, University of Plymouth 

As professional leads, Lisa and Rhiannon (& their teams) have been demonstrating exemplary ‘green leadership’ by actively promoting the Greener AHP agenda through engaging in several practice based leadership activities to ensure that the NHS Net zero agenda is being actioned on the ground – for example:

  1. Remote virtual outpatient clinics (during Covid) were so successful they continued (with great feedback their green action) – these have been maintained (thus reducing car miles) & they have since employed their first remote dietitian role!
  2. Lisa is doing Talks to different AHP groups to share ‘best practice’ for green action within professional practice
  3. Sustainability & Food group set up between 3 Cornwall Trusts, primary care and University of Plymouth to host ‘green share and learn’ events
  4. Meat free Mondays & increased plant based meals being piloted in hospital canteens
  5. Working to recycle OT equipment, splints, braces, etc
  6. Considering prevention (PH) to avoid un-necessary prescription of medications and medical care
  7. Apples & pears project – example of best practice – has looked at prescribing patients with liver disease with veg box for 3 months to enable self-care and agency for patient. Fantastic results for this green project
  8. Staff are allowed ‘greener days’ to be paid to do something for the environment
  9. Staff being placed on ‘carbon literacy’ training courses making them key contacts for trusts.

Lisa and Rhiannon deserve this award to recognise their passionate and tireless work to champion the NHS net zero and Green AHP agendas during a time where NHS resources are already very stretched.

Ali Morpeth

Registered Nutritionist, Sustainable Diets, WWF

Nominated by: Tanya Haffner, CEO RD, MyNutriWeb

Food has a huge environmental impact, and we will not be able to meet UK climate and nature targets with a diet shift towards plant rich diets. As a registered nutritionist working across food industry advocacy for WWF, Ali Morpeth evidences how the diet shift necessary for climate and nature is also compatible with EatWell, and supportive of public health goals including obesity reduction. Ali works with leading UK retailers to provide their sustainability and nutrition teams with tools and assets aimed at encouraging them to accelerate their work on protein diversification.

Specifically, Ali lead’s WWF’s business advocacy – focused on getting retailers to deliver a 50/50 split of animal/plant proteins by 2030 to meet NetZero goals. Ali also works with colleagues inside and outside of WWF to ensure that business advocacy is built into the policy goals relating to dietary shift. She works tirelessly to connect people and sectors to help move the dial on sustainability. She gives of her free time to promote ideas, new thinking, resources and support to so many. Our sector is very lucky to have her.


Student of the Year


Kindly sponsored by Benecol

Benecol® foods, including yogurt drinks, yogurts and spreads, contain a unique LDL cholesterol-lowering ingredient – plant stanol ester. https://benecol.co.uk/hcp/.


Sophie Conant

Student, University of Nottingham

Nominated by: Fiona McCullough, Associate Professor of Dietetics, University of Nottingham 

Sophie has demonstrated exceptional dedication to promoting dietetics in a variety of ways. Most notable is her innovative and effective use of social media, which is a role model for our other students
She completed a 6-month internship with the TCN Clinic – this included shadowing founder Talia Cecchele, blog post writing, putting together a fortnightly newsletter for the clinic, formatting of resources and initial consultation forms, and creating a free workbook on building a better body image which will be released later this year.

On social media she regularly develops and posts informative content on evidence-based nutrition topics and posts aimed at dispelling diet culture myths, recipe creation posts, and posts aimed to raise awareness of what a dietitian does. Her reputation continues to grow and has resulted in her being invited to provide a guest blog post for Project Heal. On this, she shared how her faith helped her to recover from an eating disorder. This inspirational article had the aim of showcasing to others that eating disorder recovery is possible. Sophie spends a lot of her free time supporting others though university societies and volunteering and is exceptional in many ways.

Fiona Macintosh & Adelaide ‘Kaitlyn’ Black

Students, University of Chester

Nominated by: Luke Davies, BSc Nutrition and Dietetics, Programme Leader, University of Chester

We would like to nominate Fiona Macintosh and Kaitlyn Black. Not only are they fantastic students who have excelled in their academic studies, they have taken lots of opportunities to support their fellow students.

Fiona and Kaitlyn started their first year of the Nutrition and Dietetic BSc course at the University of Chester in September 2022. Upon starting the course, they put themselves forward to be the secretary and president of a new Nutrition Society. Fiona and Kaitlyn were keen to help build a Nutrition Society and expressed a strong desire to want to help other students make the most out of their university experience, and provide them with opportunities to attend events to help prepare them for completing the course and for becoming a dietitian.

Fiona and Kaitlyn worked closely with the student union to set up the society and created marketing materials to advertise the society to potential members. Their advertisement of the society was a success and within weeks of setting up the society, it had over 50 members from all year groups on the postgraduate and undergraduate Nutrition and Dietetics courses, as well as from other courses.

In November 2022, Fiona and Kaitlyn very quickly organised and ran their first event for society members. They invited two dietetic graduates of the course: Francesca Allsop and Molly McEntee-Morris, to talk about being a University of Chester graduate and their current work. The event was very well attended and provided an inspiring invaluable experience for fellow students to learn about dietetics careers post course.

With placements approaching, Fiona & Kaitlyn recognised many students at first and second year feel anxious about starting a placement. They organised a Nutrition Society event in March 2022 in which they invited students who had completed placements to speak to those wanting to understand the requirements and wanting to find out more about the placement experience. This provided students with additional insight into what to expect, helping them feel more prepared and less anxious about upcoming placements.

We think Kaitlyn and Fiona are fantastic leaders who will become super dietitians in the future.

Fiona and Kaitlyn set up regular monthly events, such as exercise classes and pottery painting classes, for Nutrition Society members to encourage students across year groups to get to know each other better so they can support and learn from each other. As part of this, in December 2022, Fiona and Kaitlyn organised and hosted a staff and student Christmas party for the Nutrition Society. They put an enormous amount of time and effort into decorating a lecture room on campus for the event, organising food and drinks and creating fun events such as a Christmas quiz and raffle to make the event enjoyable for all who attended. It brought students from all year groups together and it provided students with an excellent opportunity to talk to and to get to know other students in the Department and to enhance their student experience.

In addition to organising and running all of these events, in October 2022, Fiona and Kaitlyn set up a Nutrition Society Instagram page (@uocnutritionsociety) to provide a platform for current students and future students to learn more about key aspects of the course, such as placement, and to better prepare them for their future dietetics’ careers. Since setting up the Instagram page, they have hosted ‘Story takeovers’ where qualified Dietitians and Nutritionists have shared what they get up to in their working day and answered Q&As from followers, started a ‘Top Tips Tuesday’ in which they share tips from Department lecturers to help students make the most of their studies, and shared healthy recipe videos. This has helped current students learn more about dietetics careers post course and inspired students considering applying to study Nutrition and Dietetics at university to apply, with several students in our recent Nutrition and Dietetics BSc interviews explaining that they follow the Instagram page and have found it very useful and inspiring.

To continue to raise awareness of what Dietitians do and to promote the importance of Nutrition and Hydration, Kaitlyn and Fiona also organised, created and ran an interactive information point on campus as part of Nutrition and Hydration week on Tuesday 14th March. Both students engaged with staff, visitors and other students, providing useful education and resources. They also liaised with a local fitness gym to provide prizes for their Nutrition and Hydration event for winners of a competition.

On top of their work for the Nutrition Society, Fiona is also a keen volunteer at her local hospital, where she helps feed patients once a week and Fiona is a student ambassador, and has helped run tours and provide talks for future students applying for Nutrition and Dietetics at the University as part of interview days.

Kaitlyn also acted as a spokesperson in an interview about being a student dietitian. The interview will be used to help college students understand what dietetics is about and what it is like to study it.

Rebecca Pearce

MSc Student, University of Hull

Nominated by: Joanne Black, Programme Director for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Hull 

Becky joined our first MSc cohort in 2021 and has been an absolutely pleasure to teach. As well as excelling academically in both the theory and practical aspects of the programme, and on track to achieve a distinction, Becky has always gone above and beyond to further her own development, promote the dietetics profession and support her peers.

In addition to working as a Dietetic Assistant Practitioner for one of our local practice partners alongside her studies where she intends to work as a graduate dietitian, Becky has volunteered with the BDA Yorkshire Branch as their Student Rep, and is now their Social Media Rep, and has used this to promote the benefits of joining specialist BDA groups. She was integral to organising and delivering a recent local event on ‘Diversifying Dietetics’, and it was fantastic to see Becky’s enthusiasm when meeting and greeting fellow students and dietitians.

When the BDA’s Workforce Development Programme put out a request for student blogs and case studies on their experiences of non-clinical practice-based learning, Becky was keen to support this after completing her first placement with Nutribytes, an award winning digital dietetics team and wrote a blog. The blog is now part of the BDA’s Practice-Based Learning Resources and has been included in a regional toolkit that supports emerging practice-based learning.

Throughout her studies, Becky has also supported the programme team with marketing and recruitment; presenting on dietetic webinars, delivering talks to other programmes about her journey to becoming a dietitian and the variety of roles of a dietitian.

Becky is currently in the last few weeks of her final placement, and feedback from practice educators is that she has excelled in her consolidation of practice, and her professionalism and personality have made her an integral part of the team.

Becky is going to be an asset to the dietetics profession, and we all wish her the very best of luck in her career.


Outstanding Achievement


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Paula Edwards

Clinical Nutrition Nurse Specialist Lead, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Nominated by: Jane Power, Deputy Head of Dietetics and Acute Team Lead BCUHB East nominating on behalf of BCUHB, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board 

Paula is an inspirational, passionate, driven and committed Clinical Nutrition Nurse Specialist Lead within BCUHB, the largest Health Board in Wales. Over the past 24 years, Paula has consistently initiated and implemented improvements in nutritional care and safety, with an exceptional patient-centred approach. This has ranged from the day-to-day delivery of patient care within both Primary and Secondary Care, devising and delivering education and training programmes, to working strategically within the Health Board and with National partners whilst managing a Team of Nutrition Nurse Specialists, truly a super hero! In order to make a difference, Paula’s personality and networking skills enables her to seamlessly interface with an array of stakeholders, including commissioners, procurement teams or the Chief Nursing Officer for Wales, to name a few.

It is difficult to capture all of Paula’s achievements throughout her career but the following gives a flavour.

  1. Developed and successfully implemented the BCUHB Nasogastric Tube Feeding Decision Tree pathway to support patients, nursing and medical staff achieve a safe holistic approach, reducing the risks and ensuring the right treatment is given at the right time and place
  2. Developer of key nutrition documents including parenteral nutrition and enteral tube feeding within BCUHB
  3. An active member of National Groups with a focus on safety for both patients and staff including membership of the Nasogastric Tube Special Interest Group and publication of the position paper “Time to put safety first”, worked with NHSE and HSIB around Nasogastric Never Events, involved in BAPEN MDT in conjunction with the Covid 19 Airborne Transmission Alliance
  4. Supported the development of a North Wales Adult Home Parenteral Nutrition Service in conjunction with the Welsh Adult Parenteral Nutrition Network.

Paula is an inspiration and if we could bottle her energy, experience and drive, it would be a best seller! We are very proud of all of her achievements and the legacy she bestows on her successors. Paula is a perfect and deserving nominee for the Outstanding Achievement Award in her year of retirement

Kirstine Farrer

Consultant Dietitian, Intestinal Failure Unit, Salford Care Organisation

Nominated by: Professor Gil Hardy, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Nutrition, Ipanema Research Trust, Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand 

Kirstine Farrer is a respected dietitian with extensive clinical and managerial experience, who has an outstanding reputation for her innovative and professional activities. As nutrition and dietetics lead, she is a key member of the internationally recognised intestinal failure (IF) team in Salford. Kirstine has received awards in dietetics, leadership and management, and with over 40 peer reviewed publications, is in demand as a speaker eg., at Hong Kong, Hellenic Dietetic Associations and BAPEN, where she recently ran over-subscribed IF workshops.

After graduating with distinction as the top nutrition and dietetics student, she obtained a Master’s degree from Glasgow Caledonian University for her thesis on “Quality of Life and Nutritional Status of Patients Receiving Home Enteral Tube Feeding”. Then followed an advanced diploma in dietetic practice, clinical supervisory skills certificate and awards in leadership and management from the RCN. She also completed the clinical quality course with the Institute of Health Improvement in Boston, USA. In 2018 she received the BDA Ibex award for her sustained and outstanding contribution to the dietetic profession.

As Consultant Dietitian she has chaired the clinical reference group for Greater Manchester Nutrition and Hydration Programme focusing, with Age UK, on the “Paper Weight Armband” as an innovative population health approach to tackle malnutrition in older adults. Recently appointed Head of Innovation and Research, Kirstine oversees the quality improvement and innovation fund that, in partnership with local authorities and universities, secured funding for the Salford Malnutrition Task Force, followed by further investment for Malnutrition Pathways in Greater Manchester for which she was awarded the Public Health Excellence Award.

Nationally, Kirstine is dietetic representative on the NHSE Evaluator Panel for IF services, participated on the National HPN Clinical Advice and Management Group and co-authored Top Tips for BIFA. In the NICE Expert group she reviewed Nutrition Support Guidelines for Adults and was part of the NICE Medtech innovation panel for managing IF.

Kirstine Farrer is an outstanding role model for young dietitians and other health professionals, and would be a worthy recipient of the Complete Nutrition Outstanding Achievement Award for 2023.

Sue Wood

Specialist Dietitian in Ketogenic Diet Therapies, Matthews Friends Clinics

Nominated by: Danielle Bear, Consultant Dietitian – Critical Care, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust 

I am nominating Sue for her incredible knowledge in the management of patients requiring ketogenic diet therapies and her immense willingness to provide support to those who have less knowledge. I emailed Sue in 2022 for advice regarding a patient with refractory status epilepticus for whom ketogenic therapy had been requested. We were short staffed and none of our team had ever managed this before. I had a response from Sue within minutes, we arranged a phone call and she talked me through the process from prescription to monitoring and all of the the safety aspects that needed to be considered. Not only this, but Sue developed the recipes required for a week so that I didn’t even have to think about it. I had daily check in’s (even offered when she was on holiday!) and access to her extensive knowledge in the area!

It’s clear that Sue has a passion for helping patients by using ketogenic diet therapy and I know that she frequently helps dietitians whenever needed….I have mentioned her name to several people and i’m always met with ‘Sue is amazing and so helpful!’. Sue won’t remember this, but along with helping me with a clinical patient, she was a huge support to me when I emailed her for advice regarding my friend who was diagnosed with a glioblastoma and wanted to try ketogenic therapy. Sue offered to see him in clinic to provide individualised advice and also provided me with some great resources so that I could support him. Although he sadly died a few months later at the age of 38, his Mum messaged to say how thankful she was that I had provided the support to him as it gave him some control in an uncontrollable situation. Really that thanks should go to Sue. In a time when we are all stretched beyond our means, Sue was calm and helpful and made a stressful situation more manageable. Sue absolutely deserves this award!

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