Nutrition and Hydration

Overview

This half-day training course is designed to provide a group of staff in the care sector with an introduction to enabling clients to choose and consume food and drink by mouth. The actual support required by clients will be dependent on their individual needs. The course also looks at the importance of good nutrition and hydration and signs of poor nutrition and hydration. The course will also look at reasons that individuals for poor nutrition and hydration and what can be done to encourage better food and fluid intake.

The training course is ideal for any people responsible for promoting good nutrition and hydration of individuals in their care.  

Aims of this course

• To have an understanding as to how to meet our service users nutritional and hydration needs
• Understand the importance of a well-balanced diet, including the intake of fluids
• The importance of maintaining a balanced diet on general wellbeing and health
• To give a basic understanding of  digestion and basic anatomy
• To recognise signs, symptoms, and causes of poor nutrition and hydration
• Health professionals that can give help and advice

Specifics Course Structure & Content

• Nutrition and diet
• Maintaining a healthy balanced diet
• The 5 food groups
• What is digestion
• Eating Difficulties
• Signs, symptoms, and causes of poor nutrition
• Consequences of a poor diet
• Encouraging people to eat and drink
• Assisting people to eat and drink
• Use of nutrition and fluid charts
• Symptoms of dehydration
• Severe dehydration
• Role and responsibility of staff
• Importance of good record keeping
• Involving dieticians and the SALT team

There will be a questionnaire at the end of the course to ensure trainee understanding and compliance.