A recent query came into us from a dietitian regarding the use of our resources by health professionals who are not registered dietitians. This particular query concerned the use of our two resources on dietary advice for patients following ileostomy or colostomy surgery. As the dietitian would not see all new stoma patients, only those with nutritional concerns, the query related to the appropriateness for other health professionals in the team to issue these resources. A good question!

As part of our production process, all resources are assessed by our Dietetic Reference Group to determine the appropriate knowledge and skill level for use, and are classified accordingly:

Less than a quarter of our titles are for dietitians only to use – the vast majority can be used by either specialist or other health professionals. In the case of the ileostomy/colostomy resources, these have been assessed as for use by Health Professionals, so use by colorectal nurses would ensure that all stoma patients can receive adequate and correct dietary advice.

Therein lies the additional value of NDR-UK resources – whereby other health professionals can be assured and confident that the information they give to patients through issuing our resources is consistent with clinical practice and the evidence base, having been written by specialist dietitians.

If you weren’t aware of our classification system, it’s easy to check for each resource by visiting the relevant product page on our website via the shop or Prescribe library.