Tanya Rumney is the Professional Lead Dietitian at Countess of Chester Hospital. Tanya received an Ibex in 2025 in recognition of her work to tirelessly grow the profession and provide new opportunities for dietitians.
She has worked with the BDA to lead and champion the initial development and delivery of several new dietetic roles including Primary Care/First Contact and Advanced Practice, with professionalism and dynamism.
We asked Tanya about her work and what this honour means to her.
What does it mean to you to receive the Ibex honour?
It is such an honour to have been awarded this, I love being a dietitian and work with amazing inspirational colleagues every day. This award is extra special as it is these amazing colleagues who have taken the time to nominate me.
What drove you to become a dietitian in the first place and be where you are today?
I was inspired by an opportunity for work experience with a dietitian whilst living in South Wales. It was a long time ago - I remember the dietitian wore a white lab coat! It was such a positive experience that I knew it was the career for me. It reminds me that we need to share our profession with others to continue to inspire the future dietetic workforce.
Who inspires you?
I have been fortunate to have been mentored by some incredible people who have shaped me and my career. The biggest career changing opportunity was being supported by GP colleagues to complete non-medical prescribing and advanced practice training. It opened my eyes to how valuable the dietetic workforce would be in a primary care environment and led on to me supporting Health Education England (now NHSE) and the BDA with the implementation of First Contact Dietitians in primary care.
What advice would you give to future dietitians?
Take every learning opportunity presented to you – even if it feels scary or the wrong time. Be okay with being out of your comfort zone and surround yourself with people that encourage you. Get involved with the BDA, with its specialist groups or the branches. It can feel like we don’t have enough time in the day for this but the people I have met, and the learning opportunities presented because of my involvement in the BDA has significantly influenced and elevated my career.
What has been the highlight of your dietetic career to date?
I was fortunate to work with NHS England in 2023 as the National Education and Training Lead for Dietetics. This was a year exploring every aspect of the dietetic workforce to support future workforce planning and it allowed me to work even closer with the BDA. Through this, I was exposed to decision making at the highest level that impacts on our professions.
I have been able to take this knowledge and experience and am using it to hopefully influence the future of the dietetic profession – both locally within my organisation as the lead dietitian and wider through my work with the BDA.
