British Dietetic Association
British Dietetic Association | |
| File:British Dietetic Association (emblem).png | |
| Founded | 1936 |
|---|---|
Members | 7000+ |
| Affiliations | TUC, STUC |
| Website | www.bda.uk.com |
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is a professional association and trade union for dietitians in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1936 and became a certified union in 1982; it is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.
History
The BDA was established in 1936. In 2011 the BDA celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Mission and scope
Its aims are to: Advance the science and practice of dietetics and associated subjects;
Promote training and education in the science and practice of dietetics and associated subjects;
Regulate the relations between dietitians and their employer through the BDA Trade Union.
Organisation and membership
It is a UK-wide membership organisation representing around 7,000 dietitians and dietetic support workers. The BDA head office is in Birmingham, but has members from all four UK nations and some from overseas.
The majority of the BDA's membership work in the National Health Service; however, approximately one third of the membership work in other sectors, such as education, private industry, private practice and the media.
In the UK, 'Dietitian' is a legally protected title. Unlike nutritionists, all dietitians are required to be educated to a certain level (UK degree level) and must be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council. There is a distinct difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist.
The Patron of the BDA is Her Majesty the Queen (since 1983) and the BDA Honorary President is the GMB Union National President Mary Turner MBE. The Chairman is Sian O'Shea and the Chief Executive Officer in Andy Burman.
The BDA comprises six departments:
- The Executive Department (Andy Burman, Head of Department)
- Membership Services (Milly Durrant, Head of Department)
- Education & Professional Development (Sue Kellie, Head of Department)
- External Affairs (Steven Jenkins, Head of Department)
- Trade Union (Debbie O'Rourke)
- Business Support (Karen Leek, Head of Department)
The BDA is a certified holder of the Information Standard. The Information Standard is a Department of Health certification scheme for health and social care information. Successful organisations can use the quality mark on materials to confirm that the information is from a reliable source.
Campaigns
The British Dietetic Association also administers the specialist register for dietitians and sports nutritionists working with elite sportspeople, the SENr.
In September 2010, the BDA attended the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Manchester and their motion on Malnutrition and Dehydration (the first motion to be heard following the historic speech by the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King) gained unanimous support and widespread media coverage. Subsequently, the BDA tends to table motions annually at the TUC, most recently at the TUC in Brighton in September 2012, highlighting levels of malnutrition in older people living in their own homes in the UK.
The BDA's Food Factsheets are used not only by the profession, but the wider public and media too.
The BDA achieves significant success in the UK media, often being referred to as the UK’s leading voice when it comes to food and nutrition. In addition, BDA media spokespeople are often seen in the news and appear in many television programmes. Their news section of their website is also a good source of up to date views and news.
The BDA Chairman, Helen Davidson, announced (2011) the creation of a brand new BDA national campaign called Mind the Hunger Gap. The aim of the campaign was to highlight levels of malnutrition in older people living in their own homes in the UK. Mind the Hunger Gap was deemed a great success with much coverage and publicity across the UK, including advising the UL soap Emmerdale on a community malnutrition storyline in early 2013.
The BDA launched it's most recent campaign in early 2014 called Trust a Dietitian, which aims to highlight the work and value of dietitians. As part of this new campaign the BDA will create the world's very first Dietitians Week in June 2014.
On an annual basis, the BDA gets global media coverage when they announce their list of worst celebrity diets of the year. The annual list was launched in 2010 and between 2010 and 2012, the Dukan Diet was named as the number 1 diet to avoid. It was replaced in 2013 by the Breatharian Diet.
Publications
The British Dietetic Association produces a monthly magazine entitled Dietetics Today. Simret Bassra-Brar is the magazine's Editor.
References
- John B. Smethurst, Peter Carter, "Historical Directory of Trade Unions: Including Unions In, Building and Construction, Agriculture, Fishing, Chemicals, Wood and Woodworking, Transport, Engineering and Metal Working, ...", Historical Directory of Trade Unions vol 6, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009, ISBN 0-7546-6683-2, p. 428
External links
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