Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has become the first health trust in the UK to offer staff a pioneering new medical education course to enable staff to improve their understanding of nutrition and lifestyle medicine.

The course has been created by medical education company Nutritank CIC, a not-for-profit company founded by medical doctors. It will be available to staff within the Trust who specialise in mental health care and adult community services.

The course will enable staff upskill their knowledge of nutrition and lifestyle medicine, which will improve outcomes for patients.

Commenting, Alan Jervis, Head of Education for Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Nutritank to highlight the benefits of nutrition and lifestyle interventions for our patients.

“This development aligns completely with our clinical strategy to continuously improve our services with patients and local communities at the centre of what we do.”

Nutritank is an award-winning company founded by medical doctors Dr Iain Broadley and Dr Ally Jaffee to enable healthcare professionals to improve their knowledge of nutrition and lifestyle medicine.

The not-for-profit company has worked with over 6,000 HCPs across the UK since its inception – but this is the first time it has partnered directly with an NHS trust.

It means that 500 staff at the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will benefit from additional training in how nutrition and other lifestyle factors impact on mental and physical health conditions.

The goal of the training is to improve clinical knowledge across the trust in order to better advise patients how to improve their mental health with non-pharmaceutical solutions.

Nutritank CEO, Dr Iain Broadley, said:

“The importance of nutrition and other lifestyle interventions in mental and physical health recovery is not always well understood, even by experienced clinical staff.

“This course helps professionals to better understand the role good diet and self-care play in relieving common conditions, so they have the confidence to pass this advice on to patients.

“We hope that this will enable the Trust to upskill their staff and help patients improve their health effectively – without incurring huge costs.”

Dr Broadley added that Nutritank hopes to roll out the course more widely across the NHS following feedback from clinicians and healthcare professionals in Cornwall.

The course will be available to NHS staff in Cornwall from March 2025 on a 12 month licence.

ENDS

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Notes

1. Nutritank CIC is a not-for-profit company specialising in medical education.

2. Founded in 2017, Nutritank has supported over 6,000 healthcare professionals across the UK through medical education courses, training and webinars.

3. In 2022, co-founders Dr Ally Jaffee and Dr Iain Broadley were awarded the Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award for their game-changing work with Nutritank.

4. In 2021, co-founder Ally Jaffee was awarded the Diana Award for young change-makers by campaigning to have diet and nutrition added to the UK’s medical curriculum. Awarded to those under the age of 25.

5. In 2019 co-founders Dr Iain Broadley and Dr Ally Jaffee were awarded the BBC Food – The Pat Llewellyn New Talent Award. Awarded to those under 30 who are passionate, have innovative new ideas and are working hard to improve food or farming in the UK. Jamie Oliver was also the individual who announced the pair as winners of the award.

6. The Nutritank co-founders Dr Iain Broadley and Dr Ally Jaffee worked with Jamie Oliver and his Public Health Campaign’s Team on the campaign #nutrition4medics and successfully got a clause (2.19) added to the 2019 NHS Long Term Plan: A commitment to “nutrition training, and an understanding of what is involved in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.”

7. NUTRITANK is proud to be featured in the official NHS book Celebrating 75 Years of the National Health Service.

8. For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Joe Taylor on 07584 124873 or email [email protected]