Nutrition Department

What do Box Hill dietitians do?

Dietitians are experts in nutrition and dietary advice. They assess the nutritional needs of people and can advise people how to modify eating patterns to optimise their nutrition.

In the hospital, clinical dietitians work closely with medical staff and other health professionals to ensure optimal nutrition for all patients especially those who show signs of becoming malnourished. Ultimately, better nutrition in hospital can lead to a shorter stay in hospital and help people to return home as quickly as possible. As such the dietitians also work closely with Food Services Staff to ensure that the food for all patients is appropriate and of a high standard.

An important role of clinical dietitians is to liaise with community health dietitians to make sure people who need ongoing nutrition care are looked after when they return home.

Who do dietitians work with in the hospital?

Dietitians are part of the allied health team and work closely with medical and nursing staff in the overall management of patients.

Dietitians at Box Hill Hospital work with:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Diabetes Educators
• Food Services
• Speech Pathologists
• Occupational therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Podiatrists
• Social Workers

The Staff

Clinics

The Nutrition Department at Box Hill Hospital conducts weekly general nutrition, diabetes and gestational diabetes outpatient nutrition clinics.

The clinics are open to people who have been previous patients of Box Hill Hospital and who also have a current referral from their GP or hospital specialist.

Costs

Concession card holder $6.50
Non concession card holder $10.00

For further information on accessing the Outpatient Nutrition Clinics please contact Box Hill Hospital switch board on (03) 9895 3333.

Contacts

Nutrition Department      (03) 9895 3428
Outpatient appointments    (03) 9895 3500

What's new

The Box Hill dietetics department is currently involved in some interesting projects including:

• A multi-site AUSPEN (Australian Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition) study of parenteral and enteral nutrition.
  
• Involvement in setting up a Home Enteral Nutrition outreach programme to better care for patients with gastrostomies

Students

Box Hill Hospital Nutrition Department currently takes on students from Deakin University.

If you would like further information about student placements at Box Hill Hospital, please contact Melissa Alexion on 9895 3428.

Find A Dietitian

If you are ineligible to use the services of a Box Hill Dietitian, you may like to seek out alternative services. Local dietitians are located at:

St. George's Health Service
Cotham Road, Kew
Ph. 9268 0566

Hawthorn Community Health Centre
614 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn 3121
Ph. 9818 6703

Manningham Community Health Centre
8 Jackson Court, Doncaster East 3109
Ph. 9848 2424

Box Hill Community Health Centre
1 - 5 Station Street, Mitcham 3132
Ph. 9874 2174

Maroondah Social & Community Health Centre
75 Patterson Street, Ringwood East 3135
Ph. 9879 3933

Knox Community Health Centre
1063 Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully 3156
Ph. 9757 6200

Ranges Community Health Centre
17 Clarke Street, Lilydale 3140
Ph. 9739 4577

Ranges Community Health Centre
1624 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave 3160
Ph. 9754 3257

Yarra Valley Community Health Service
Healsville Hospital, 377 Maroondah Hwy, Healsville 3777
Ph. 5962 3681 or 1300 130 381

Yarra Junction Community Health Service
Ph. 5967 2681

Eltham Community Health Service
917 Main Rd. Eltham 3095
Ph. 9413 1333

Monash Link Community Health Service Thomas
568 Neerim Road, Hughesdale 3163
Ph. 9568 2599

Alternatively, contact the Dietitians Association of Australia.
(02) 6282 9555 or www.daa.asn.au

Further Information

For smart eating tips, to find a dietitian or for information about training and working as a dietitian visit the Dietitians Association of Australia Website at www.daa.asn.au

Healthy Eating Tips

· It's easy to get 3 serves of fruit a day - just think breakfast, lunch and tea. For example, try sliced banana on your breakfast cereal, an apple after lunch and some canned peaches after dinner.

· If you're trying to lose weight, instead of standing on the scales, measure the circumference of your waist. Going down one belt hole significantly reduces your risk of diabetes and cardio vascular disease.

· Choose multigrain bread instead of white bread. It has more fibre and a lower glycemic index, so that it's more filling.

Further Resources

· Dietitians Association of Australia - www.daa.asn.au

· Foodwatch - www.foodwatch.com.au

· Glycemic Index - www.glycemicindex.com

· Nutrition Australia - www.nutritionaustralia.org

· Better Health Channel - www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au