What is a Band 5 Dietitian?

January 9, 2026 •

4 min read

As the typical entry-point into a clinical role within the UK's National Health Service (NHS), a newly qualified professional starts as a band 5 dietitian. This position provides foundational experience across various areas of dietetics, working with a diverse range of patients in both hospital and community settings. It is a crucial first step for registered dietitians to hone their skills under supervision.

Quick Summary

A band 5 dietitian is an entry-level professional, often newly qualified, working within the NHS to assess, diagnose, and treat patients' nutritional needs. The role involves managing a broad clinical caseload across inpatient and outpatient settings while gaining experience and progressing toward specialized band 6 roles.

Key Points

Entry-Level Role: The band 5 position is the standard entry point for newly qualified dietitians within the NHS, offering a broad clinical experience.
Diverse Responsibilities: Duties include performing nutritional assessments, developing care plans, and providing patient education in various settings like hospitals and community clinics.
Supervision and Growth: Band 5 dietitians work with supervision from senior colleagues, helping them develop their skills and manage their caseload effectively.
Career Progression: This role is a stepping stone to more specialised band 6 positions and senior leadership roles, with opportunities for specialisation in areas like diabetes or paediatrics.
Foundation of Practice: The experience gained as a band 5 is crucial for building the clinical and professional competencies required for a successful and impactful career in dietetics.
NHS Structure: The banding system defines responsibilities and salary, with Band 5 being a foundational level for all registered dietitians entering the NHS.

The Role and Responsibilities of a Band 5 Dietitian

In the UK, the role of a band 5 dietitian is a cornerstone of the NHS dietetic service, providing a vital bridge for newly qualified practitioners to transition from academic training to autonomous clinical practice. These dietitians work under the supervision of more senior colleagues, managing a varied caseload that exposes them to a wide array of medical conditions and patient types. Their work is centered on providing high-quality, evidence-based nutritional care.

Core Duties and Patient Care

The day-to-day work of a band 5 dietitian is dynamic and patient-focused. Key responsibilities include:

Nutritional Assessment: Performing comprehensive assessments of patients' nutritional status. This involves interpreting clinical information such as biochemistry results, weight and height measurements (anthropometrics), and medical history to formulate an accurate nutritional diagnosis.
Developing and Implementing Treatment Plans: Creating individualised nutritional care plans with patient-centered goals. For patients requiring nutritional support, this may include recommending and monitoring oral nutritional supplements, or advising on enteral (tube) feeding regimens.
Patient Education and Counselling: Providing sensitive and effective dietary education and counselling to patients, their families, and carers. This requires excellent communication skills to negotiate and agree on dietary changes with patients who may have complex emotional or physical conditions.
Multidisciplinary Team Collaboration: Working closely with other healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and speech and language therapists. Participation in ward rounds and team meetings is common to ensure a holistic approach to patient care.
Documentation and Record Keeping: Maintaining accurate and comprehensive clinical records in line with national and professional standards, such as those from the British Dietetic Association (BDA) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Typical Working Environments

A band 5 dietitian gains diverse experience by working in various settings, which often change through rotational posts. Common work environments include:

Acute Hospital Wards: Covering general medical and surgical wards, orthopaedics, and respiratory units, where patients often require nutritional support due to illness.
Outpatient Clinics: Running dedicated clinics for patients with long-term conditions like diabetes, food allergies, or irritable bowel syndrome.
Community Settings: Working in patients' homes, care homes, and community health centres to provide ongoing nutritional management.
Group Education Sessions: Developing and delivering educational sessions for specific patient groups, such as those in cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation.

The Future: Career Progression

After gaining experience, a band 5 dietitian can advance their career significantly. The typical next step is becoming a band 6 dietitian, which involves specialising in a specific clinical area. Further progression can lead to highly specialised (Band 7) or management roles (Band 8 and above). Experienced dietitians might choose alternative paths in research, teaching, or private practice. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is essential for career growth. A newly qualified dietitian can expect to spend one to two years as a band 5, although this varies and is a personal career choice. The British Dietetic Association (BDA) provides valuable resources and guidance for this journey, offering courses and support for dietitians at all levels.

Band 5 vs. Band 6 Dietitian: A Comparative Table


Feature	Band 5 Dietitian	Band 6 Dietitian
Experience Level	Entry-level, often newly qualified.	Mid-level, with significant post-registration experience.
Caseload	Broad, general, and varied across different settings, typically non-complex cases.	More complex patients, often focused within a specific clinical specialty (e.g., oncology, diabetes).
Autonomy	Works under the regular supervision of a senior dietitian for complex cases.	Manages more complex cases independently, with less direct support.
Supervision of Others	May assist with the supervision of student dietitians or support workers.	Often responsible for supervising and mentoring junior staff, including band 5 dietitians.
Service Development	Contributes to quality improvement and audit projects.	Plays a greater role in service development, such as updating guidelines and leading audits.
Specialisation	Primarily rotational to gain broad experience.	Expected to specialise in a particular area of dietetics.
Responsibilities	Focused on assessment, planning, and delivering basic care plans.	Increased clinical and managerial responsibilities, managing more challenging patient journeys.
Typical Salary (NHS)	Starting salary on the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scales for band 5, generally lower than a band 6.	Higher salary compared to band 5, reflecting greater experience and responsibility.

Conclusion

Becoming a band 5 dietitian is an exciting and challenging starting point for a career in dietetics within the UK's healthcare system. It provides newly qualified professionals with the essential skills, diverse experience, and professional support needed to build a solid foundation. Through a wide variety of duties, from assessing patients in hospital wards to educating groups in the community, the role prepares dietitians for a rewarding career path. With dedication and continuing professional development, a band 5 dietitian can progress towards specialisation, leadership, or alternative career opportunities, making a significant impact on public health. It is a fundamental role that underpins high-quality nutritional care across the NHS.

Frequently Asked Questions

To become a band 5 dietitian in the UK, you must have a degree in Dietetics accredited by the British Dietetic Association and be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

While it varies, many dietitians progress to a band 6 role within 12 to 24 months post-registration. However, some choose to remain at band 5 to gain broad experience before specialising, and there is no pressure to move up quickly.

The salary for a band 5 dietitian in the NHS follows the Agenda for Change pay scales. As of April 2025, it typically ranges from approximately £33,247 to £41,424, but can vary by location and experience.

A band 5 dietitian may assist with the supervision and training of student dietitians and dietetic assistants. However, formal supervisory and managerial responsibilities are more common for band 6 and higher roles.

The main difference lies in experience, autonomy, and specialisation. Band 5 is the entry-level role with a varied, general caseload, while band 6 involves managing more complex cases independently within a specific clinical specialty.

A rotational band 5 dietitian moves between different clinical areas, such as inpatient wards, outpatient clinics, and community teams. This allows them to gain experience in various specialisms before deciding on an area for future specialisation.

While the focus is on gaining broad, foundational experience, some band 5 positions can be in more specialised areas, such as paediatrics, though these are less common. Most specialisation happens at the band 6 level.

Band 5 dietitians can also work in community settings, including outpatient clinics, patients' homes for domiciliary visits, and care homes, as part of a wider community nutrition and dietetics team.