Two of the biggest risks to health and wellbeing in care homes are malnutrition and dehydration. Within the BDA Care Home digest, it highlights how crucial a nutrient-rich diet and hydration is. As we age, our bodies need to adapt to nutritional changes including diets rich in protein, calcium and vitamins to maintain strength, bone health and energy levels. 

Malnutrition, also known as undernutrition, happens when a person isn’t getting enough of the right nutrients to stay healthy. It can be caused by several factors including social, physical and medical including isolation, difficulty eating or illness. It is estimated that up to 50% of people who are frail are also malnourished, which can be helped with early screening (like the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool “MUST”) and care planning. 

Practical Tips from the BDA Digest

Nutritional care plan: 

Ensure that every resident has a detailed plan which is regularly reviewed. This can include advice from dietitian’s, speech and language therapists 

Fortify foods: 

Make simple swaps to boost nutritional value, like adding milk powder, cream or cheese to soups and mashed potatoes. These little changes can impact massively, especially if the residents doesn’t eat often. 

Small, frequent meals: 

It is possible large portions will be too much for residents, so offering smaller meals and snacks more often can help make residents meet their dietary needs. 

Regularly reviewing: 

Residents may fall in and out of this category, so it is important to have regular reviews and assessments to see if they are doing well or depleting. 

Dehydration happens when the body doesn’t receive enough of the fluids it needs. This often develops gradually, especially for residents with cognitive challenges. Maintaining hydration can be a big challenge, especially with up to 70% of care home residents living with dementia. 

Practical Tips from the BDA Digest

Making drinks appealing: 

Using colourful cups, familiar flavours and milkshakes can encourage intake 

Easily accessible: 

Having water stations, tea and coffee trolleys and jugs can really help, but these should be regularly changed to stay refreshed and at the right temperature. 

Think seasonally: 

Foods with high water content can be used, but this should never replace regular drinks. Having refreshing smoothies and milkshakes in summer and soups and warm drinks in the winter can support hydration.