PUBLIC HEALTH
ENGAGING, INSPIRING AND CELEBRATING: NUTRITION AND HYDRATION WEEK Caroline Lecko Clinical Improvement Manager, NHS Improvement
Nutrition and Hydration Week 2017 (13th to 19th March) is upon us. Who would have thought that we would be looking to celebrate our sixth year of a campaign that is quite simply all about engaging, inspiring and celebrating everything that is amazing about nutrition and hydration!
Caroline Lecko is one of the Nutrition and Hydration Week co-leads, a partner at Nutrition and Hydration Associates and currently Clinical Improvement Manager at NHS Improvement.
It is worth just reminding ourselves what Nutrition and Hydration Week is about: it’s a global social movement to improve the provision of nutrition and hydration which started back in 2012 as a one-off patient safety week and how it has grown! Now an annual event, celebrated by many countries around the world, Nutrition and Hydration Week continues to go from strength to strength, thanks to the incredible support of dietitians, caterers, nurses, hospitals, care homes, community services, suppliers and manufacturers. More recently, Nutrition and Hydration Week has seen support from schools and several larger employers. We thank you all for the support and involvement. SO, WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE WEEK 13TH TO 19TH MARCH?
Well, to be honest, anything goes . . . The Nutrition and Hydration Week campaign is not about telling you what to do, as we believe that it is your week and that you should be able to use the week to do the things that are important to you. All we ask is that you share your plans and events with us at Nutrition and Hydration Week, so that we can share them in our newsletters, on social media and on our website. Here are some highlights from 2016: Gillibrand Hall Nursing Care Home held a week-long challenge to increase the fruit and vegetable intake of the 8
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residents. Their chef Dan offered smoothies and fresh fruit juice and fruit for breakfast and put fruit in scones and puddings. The Home invited their very own dietitian to an event that was also attended by their nutrition and fluid champions, the chef, nurses and care assistants. The senior management team were also invited to join in with the residents’ dining experience and to talk about the food offered and went on to use the feedback to change the menus. They also held a ‘bake off’ which was judged by the residents and the cakes were served as part of a vintage afternoon tea party. To round the week off, a mocktail party was held, which was a great way to increase fluid intake. Our colleagues at the Hungarian Dietetic Association also had a busy week. After a successful World Tea Party in 2015 with 550 residents, they wanted to make their second World Tea Party event a memorable occasion. The World Tea Party was held at the Department of the Dietetics and Nutrition Sciences of the Semmelweis University on 16th March 2016 and was open to 60 final year BSc students and 20 MSc students of the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition Sciences. The event included a welcome speech by Mrs Jolán Kubanyi, President of the Hungarian Dietetic Association and a presentation entitled ‘Importance of hydration’ by Ms Zsuzsanna Szűcs, Chair of the Science Committee of the Hungarian Dietetic Association. At the event, different kinds of
tea (black, green and fruit tea) (courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions) and bottled drinks (still and sparkling mineral water, juice and ice tea) (courtesy of Coca-Cola Hungary) were provided. There was a little message with every single bottle - an attached hydration recommended intake note (by age and gender) based on EFSA advice for water intake. In addition to this special World Tea Party, the Hungarian Dietetic Association used their Facebook page to deal with the importance of hydration and preventing malnutrition: click here for more.... The Nutritional Academy’s Newsletter in March was linked to preventing dehydration and was sent to the dietitians and the media. Closer to home, our colleagues at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust had the most amazing tea dance to promote Nutrition and Hydration Week, as well as Dementia on 17th March 2016 for some of their elderly patients. A couple of ballroom dancers from Planet Dance School in Solihull and an organist (who already volunteered within their hospital) joined them and all gave their time freely. Patients were invited from the wards and outpatients, along with some residents from a local nursing home, some of whom had dementia. For the tea dance, they decorated the area with bunting, used china cups and saucers, cake stands for the sandwiches and cakes and made up memory books for the tables which consisted of archive photos from the 1920s-70s of Birmingham City Centre, which were extremely popular and created lots of conversation. All tables had names too, such as The Marilyn Monroe Table, The Rock Hudson Table and The Bette Davis Table. Inspiring!
These are just three of the incredible stories we were told about for Nutrition and Hydration Week 2016. Further examples of events held around the world can be found at www.nutritionandhydrationweek.co.uk/ events/nutrition-and-hydration-week-2016/. Nutrition and Hydration Week is about sharing all the positive things that organisations and individuals are currently doing, or that they do as part of the week - we believe that by sharing examples and stories, we can inspire others to become involved in Nutrition and Hydration Week and to look at how they provide nutrition and hydration within their organisation. In a nutshell, we celebrate all the amazing things that individuals and organisations do. IT’S REALLY NOT TOO LATE TO GET INVOLVED
We will be celebrating Nutrition and Hydration Week from the 13th to 19th March 2017 and we would love you to get involved in any way you can during that week. We also believe in creating a legacy so that you can have your Nutrition and Hydration Week when it works for you and your organisation. (I hope I don’t get told off for saying that!) In the world of improvement, we call this ‘spread’ and creating ‘momentum’, so let’s ‘spread’ the word and create ‘momentum’ for the Nutrition and Hydration Week mission to create a global movement that focuses energy, activity and engagement on nutrition and hydration as a fundamental element of maintaining the health and well-being for our global community. Remember, it’s your week and you must use it to make a difference; all we ask is that you let us know what you are planning so that we can share with our global community as part of our vision to engage, inspire and celebrate.
We, at Nutrition and Hydration Week, personally thank you for all your support over the years, but especially we thank you for making a difference to all your patients, residents, service users, students and employees - you are truly amazing! We hope that your support will continue for 2017.
Please do contact us at: info@nutritionandhydrationweek.co.uk - Caroline www.NHDmag.com March 2017 - Issue 122
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FROM HOLDING BACK.. . .TO HOLDING JACK
. .In a shot SOMETIMES PATIENTS CAN’T MEET THE ENERGY REQUIREMENTS THEY NEED THROUGH NORMAL DIET AND ONS ALONE.1
IT’s BEEN SHOWN TO:
Little wonder it helps so much
55% 92% 67%
Increase calorie intake by 55% IN ADDITION TO NORMAL diet 2 HAVE 92% COMPLIANCE OF THE PRESCRIBED DAILY AMOUNT3 Reduce ‘MUST’ scoreS IN 67% OF PATIENTS*3,4
Pro-Cal shot is a food for special medical purposes and should be used under strict medical supervision. ® Reg. Trademarks of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.
®
Vitaflo International Ltd, Suite 1.11, South Harrington Building, 182 Sefton Street, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool L3 4BQ, UK. Tel: 0151 709 9020 vitaflo.co.uk abbottnutrition.co.uk A Nestlé Health Science Company
References 1. Wright C. CN Focus 2012;4(3):17-19. 2. Sharma M et al. Colorectal Disease 2013;15: 885-891. 3. Data on file. 4. Malnutrition Advisory Group (MAG) 2011.Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. www.bapen.org.uk/pdfs/must/must_full.pdf. Accessed September 2016. *Of those who were at medium or high risk of malnutrition at baseline, 67% were at low risk of malnutrition on study completion.
All information correct at the time of print. December 2016