NHS Trust supports national Nutrition and Hydration Week
South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is supporting a national initiative aimed at promoting the importance of hydration and nutrition for people in health and social care environments.
Nutrition and Hydration Week 2014, supported by the Hospital Caterers Association and the British Dietetic Association, takes place from 17 – 23 March 2014. The Trust – which provides a range of community, mental health and learning disability services in Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield – is showing its support by offering a variety of educational activities to help individuals think about their nutrition and hydration choices.
Activities organised in support of the week include:
• on inpatient wards in Wakefield and Kirklees, a nutrition quiz and word search, smoothie making and games highlighting how much sugar is in drinks.
• a tea party to support Nutrition and Hydration Week’s ‘Worldwide Afternoon Tea’ event. Service users in Wakefield and Kirklees will be treated to a traditional afternoon tea on Wednesday 19 March, including a fruit salad, fruit smoothie, a homemade shortbread biscuit, and a fruit scone.
• a poster display with promotional material in the dining room at Fieldhead – which is run by Catering Xtra and received a ‘Gold’ Eatwell Award in 2013 for its hygiene and healthy eating credentials.
Barbara Tootle, Advanced Dietitian at the Trust, said “Maintaining a good fluid intake can be overlooked by service users on the wards as there can be fewer prompts to drink regularly. Service users have access to beverage bays and water coolers, but often forget to drink as much as they should. This campaign is a great way to raise awareness of the benefits of improving fluid intake in a variety of ways – good physical health can often lead to better mental health, and by highlighting the importance of looking after your body, we can help to make a difference.”
Support Services Manager Joanne Bastow added: “Supporting this campaign shows that our catering facilities have continued commitment to the quality of our service users’ wellbeing. Our catering staff are 100% dedicated to providing an excellent service. To ensure that we can provide meals that are nutritional and popular with people, our catering teams work closely with the nutrition and dietetics service, clinical staff and service users.”
“Catering staff, dietitians, and ward staff also work together to make sure each individual is receiving the correct nutrition vital to their health and recovery.”
To find out more about Nutrition and Hydration Week, visit http://nutritionandhydrationweek.co.uk/