Elizabeth Rai
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Lead Specialist Dietitian
I have worked as a dietitian for over 20 years and although not from this area originally, I got my first job in South Durham, then gradually moved north to Newcastle and have never left! For the last 3 years, I have led a team of 4 dietitians looking after the nutritional needs of kidney patients from across the area. This can vary from advising an outpatient on the dialysis unit on a low phosphate diet to designing a tube feeding regimen for a patient with multi-organ failure on the critical care unit.
The northeast has a diverse patient population and we are required to be innovative and creative as well as caring, in our approach to patient’s individual nutritional requirements. The world of dietetics is constantly changing with new research and ideas emerging every year. I am proud to be a part of this and regularly have opportunities to showcase my work either individually or as a team, with colleagues locally and throughout the UK. I am constantly challenged in my work and there is never a dull moment!