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Hydration and Nutrition week 2022 – March 14th-20th
Good health starts with the basics. Good hydration and nutrition is vital to providing good care and support for our clients. We support Nutrition and Hydration Week and work hard to ensure all our clients are well cared for and supported to get the right nutritional needs.
Nutrition and Hydration Week runs from March 14th to 20th this year and aims to highlight, promote, and celebrate improvements in the provision of nutrition and hydration on a local, national and international level.
We subscribe to the 10 key characteristics of good hydration and nutrition, as outlined by the NHS here, in short, they are:
- Look out for the signs of malnourishment and put a plan in place to improve the situation.
- Create a personal care plan enabling the client to have choice and control over their nutrition and hydration.
- Provide guidance in our service delivery on hydration and nutrition.
- Involve clients in planning and monitoring their food and drinks provision.
- Provide food and drink, with or without assistance in an environment that will help clients to eat and drink.
- Provide all our carers with the correct training to help clients in this area.
- Hydration and nutrition facilities should be flexible and available 24 hours a day.
- Have a care policy for this area that centres on the needs of clients – which is measured in line with Government guidance and national standards.
- All hydration and nutrition care should be given in a safe manner.
- Care providers should use a multidisciplinary approach and work with carers, clients, family, and other care services like GPs.
At GoodOaks we currently deliver food and nutrition online learning as part of our induction programme and as part of our continuous improvement initiative we are incorporating fluids, nutrition, and food hygiene into the face-to-face elements of our induction and annual refresher training.
Lorraine Hunt, Head of Training at GoodOaks Homecare said: “What we eat, and drink is vital to our health and wellbeing. At GoodOaks, we require all our carers to have an in-depth understanding of the principles of hydration and nutrition so that they can support our clients based on specific clients’ individual needs.
“Our carers understand that good nutrition and hydration is a fundamental aspect of the care we provide to our clients, as is being able to take appropriate steps to support our them in the best way possible. This support can be through understanding what is required to maintain a balanced diet or fluid intake, recognising the signs and symptoms of malnutrition and dehydration, learning how to encourage our clients to eat and drink better or to know what to do if they have concerns about any of our clients.”
The GoodOaks Homecare difference
We believe that good care can change someone’s life, enabling them to live more independently and comfortably for longer. You can read what our clients and their loved ones say about us here. You can also read about all the tasks we can help you with here. From washing, cooking, cleaning and gardening, to helping you or your loved one get out and about to appointments, to see friends or to do activities. GoodOaks carers are here to help.
If you would like help or support for you or your loved one, please feel free to get in touch for a free consultation about the care we could provide. You can find our contact details online, or feel free to give our head office team a call on 01202 757787 and we can put you in touch with your local branch.
