If you are considering a Residential care home in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire especially, nutrition for elderly people and senior residents is vital for the well-being of our older adults.
In this guide, we will find out the benefits of why residents need to receive essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals as a top priority and how we go about achieving this.
Top Benefits
Here at Swarthmore, we like to think we are setting the standard and exceeding best practices when it comes to nutrition for our residents. The reason we can make that claim is simple.
With diverse and appealing menus, care homes like ours aim to cater to the different tastes and dietary needs of all our residents, including vegetarians and residents who require more diabetic-friendly options. All while meeting the Regulation 14 of the UK Health and Social Care Act 2008 via adequate hydration and specific dietary needs to ensure that “Nutritional and hydration needs of service users must be met”.
Care Plans
When it comes to nursing home or care home nutrition, care plans play a vital role for your loved one by ensuring proper nutrition for them and each resident. For instance, these can help tailor dietary needs by factoring in health conditions, preferences, and dietary restrictions.
This personalised approach, in turn, ensures that a home’s residents receive balanced meals that meet their nutritional requirements, providing you with better health and well-being as a result.
These care plans are then regularly updated by care home staff and allow for adjustments based on changes in your health or appetite. All while ensuring continuous and appropriate nutritional support to give you some of the best, as well as good health and happiness possible.
Understanding That Each Resident is Unique
For instance, an excellent local care home’s healthcare professionals should clearly understand and address chewing and swallowing difficulties for particular residents with health conditions.
This can then provide you with appropriate food, such as finger foods, which are easier for certain residents to swallow, to the textures and varieties, which are crucial for your enjoyment, comfort, and safety when eating.
Regular Hydration and Fluid Intake
One of the other key areas that care staff, are taught to monitor; we will delve into, is the benefit of regular hydration and how care homes should cater for this, with various drinks offered throughout the day being just the start.
Positive Dining Experience & Meal Plans
Then, we will discuss the benefits of creating a positive dining environment to give service users the best experience possible. This environment helps to stimulate appetite while improving social interaction along with healthy meals with the right nutrients – which, in turn, we believe, reduces the feelings of loneliness as a result.
Staff's role
Then, we will cover the importance of nutrition, how staff play a crucial role, and how a good home should have specially trained them to assist and monitor a home’s residents’ dietary intake while also factoring in residents’ requests when it comes to meal quality improvement – all while ensuring they meet their nutritional needs.
So let’s explore these topics and more to help you understand the best practices that should go into care home nutrition and the level of effort we put in here at Swarthmore, along with the benefits of this.
Following Care Home Nutrition Guidelines
One thing that most people do not know is that there are Nutritional guidelines and menu checklist for residential and nursing homes which good care homes need to follow and class as a good baseline when coming up with their meal plans for a healthy diet.
Apart from this, for instance, can include carrying out regular assessments on an individual’s nutritional status, which in turn can help our care homes’ healthcare professionals to identify any changes in dietary requirements, medical conditions, or deficiencies in our residents that may need addressing through a change in the nutritious food provided.
Why is Good Nutrition Important for Elderly Residents - Won't Just Any Food Do?
As we know, a well-balanced diet combined with light physical activity is vital to a healthy lifestyle, and this doesn’t stop when you get old. Research has shown that a varied diet can reduce the risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, certain cancers, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure, which in turn helps when it comes to longevity.
Additionally, good nutrition boosts the immune system, aids in recovery from illness and injury, improves overall well-being, and increases the energy levels of our senior residents, helping them live more active and longer lives.
Residents’ Food Preferences
Medication can also affect appetite or taste, so offering more variety of meal options is especially important, especially as we age.
Ensuring there are choices for everyone helps to accommodate different tastes and preferences that we all have, for instance.
Lack of Appetite
While a lack of appetite doesn’t always indicate serious health issues, it’s essential to ensure that each resident gets adequate nutrition intake.
Whether that is, by engaging residents in activities that are designed to stimulate appetites, such as exercise, fresh air, and companionship, as these often enhance hunger if people are struggling to want to eat.
Social mealtimes, for instance, can also boost our residents’ appetites by reducing their feelings of loneliness.
Leading Care Homes in Gerrards Cross
Among the leading care providers in Gerrards Cross, Swarthmore Residential Care Home stands out for many families.
Swarthmore Residential Care Home
Swarthmore Residential Care Home, for instance, is located in a peaceful part of Gerrards Cross, offering you a serene setting for our care home residents. Our care home also provides personalised care plans to meet the individual needs of each one of our residents, with our 24-hour live-in care staff at Swarthmore being highly trained and dedicated to ensuring the well-being and happiness of all our residents alike.
Care Home Facilities
Our home features modern facilities, including en-suite rooms, communal lounges, and beautifully maintained gardens whereas a resident, you can relax and enjoy the outdoors.
Furthermore, we place a strong emphasis on creating a community feel. We encourage our residents to participate in various activities and social events to help them get the most out of their stay and keep them emotionally and physically engaged and active. To us, you are not just a number; you are part of a community of older people. At Swarthmore, we like to think that we are an extension of your family.
Nutritious Meals
We also heavily prioritise nutritious and delicious meal preparation, where you can socialise with other members of our community in our dining room. These meals can also cater to many different dietary requirements and preferences. As a residential care home, we communicate with our residents and their families so we can obtain any requests on the menu.
Chewing Difficulties
Many older adults also have trouble chewing and swallowing certain types of foods. As a result, we and other good care homes can offer you more of a delicious pureed or minced food option instead, which can be a very beneficial solution to make sure they are still getting the proper nutrition for a long life.
Meal Planning
Good nutrition is also far more than what is served. It starts at the meal planning stage, which involves planning out the suitable types of meals so that our and other home residents can provide the body with all necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This is where planning diverse menus in advance comes into play. This not only ensures the nutritional value delivered but also allows a home’s residents to anticipate what is prepared for them and look forward to the meals that they get served as a result.
For instance, a good care home will factor in meals that take into consideration the following to aid with improving the longevity of their residents – as we do.
Calcium, High Protein and Vitamin D
This is especially important for bone and overall health and is in foods that include, for instance:
● Fortified cereals
● Fruit juices
● Dark leafy greens (kale, spinach)
● Canned fish
● Milk
Bone health is a crucial factor towards longevity. For instance according to Age UK – “Falls are the most common cause of injury-related deaths in people over the age of 75”
Therefore, improving the bone health of our residents where we can will help them live longer.
Vitamin B12
Essential for healthy nerves and blood cells, with foods such as the following containing these in a reasonable amount:
● Lean meats
● Canned tuna
● Salmon
This is especially important for older adults, for instance according to the NHS:
“Vitamin B12 helps keep the nervous system and blood cells healthy and prevents a type of anemia called megaloblastic anemia. In megaloblastic anemia, the red blood cells are bigger than they should be and there are fewer of them, so they do not carry oxygen around the body as well as they should.”
Older people, for instance, need to avoid Megaloblastic Anemia, as this causes fatigue, making you feel too tired to do everyday tasks. It also causes weakness, which in turn might make you feel like you don’t have enough muscle strength to move around easily or handle daily activities. Additionally, pallor is when your skin looks paler than usual.
We want to avoid all of these things to make sure you are as healthy as possible so that you can live a long and fruitful life.
Fibre
Fibre helps lower heart disease risk and prevents Type 2 diabetes, and is exceptionally high in foods such as:
● Whole Grains
● Cereals,
● Pasta
● Nuts
● Seeds
● Fruits
● Broccoli
● Carrots
● Melons
● and Oranges With <a href=”https://www.cardiosmart.org/topics/older-adults-and-heart-disease#:~:text=Normal%20aging%20causes%20your%20heart,and%20heart%20failure%20are%20next.”>according to Cardio Smart</a>, “A high blood pressure is the most common heart condition, with coronary artery disease and heart failure are next for people older than 75”.
We factor this into our residents’ diets, which means we give them the options for the best nutrition they need to avoid this. This is especially important for those over 75, for instance.
Benefits of Mealtimes in Care Homes
Mealtimes in care homes like ours, especially, are a vital part of life here, as they provide more than just nutritional value.
For instance, they offer comfort, help build companionship, and mark special occasions, all of which help to build up and improve one’s mental and physical well-being.
As you all know, Humans are social creatures, and dining – especially for older adults – helps our residents connect with each other, creating a sense of routine, friendship and familiarity that they wouldn’t simply get elsewhere, especially if they were living at home on their own.
Impact of Nutrition on Mood and Well-being in Care Home Settings
What we eat doesn’t just affect our physical health; it can also drastically affect our mood, concentration, and overall feeling of mental well-being, which can be more impactful when it comes to continuing to live a long and complete life in your later years.
This is where proper nutrition, food fortification, and good hydration are essential for your mental and physical health, for example.
Risk of Malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when the diet lacks the right balance of nutrients. This can lead to body weight loss, loss of cognitive function, weight gain, or nutrient deficiencies despite the average weight, which can all reduce service users’ longevity – something that we actively try to avoid by implementing a Food First approach and looking out for signs of malnutrition.
For instance, symptoms that our team actively looks out for – and also simultaneously looks to avoid through providing correct nutrition for you – include, for example:
● Muscle weakness
● Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
● Fatigue
● Reduction in your Immune Function
● Bowel Cancer
● Frequent infections
● Increased falls
● Constipation
● Lack of energy
● Weight changes
● Behavioral changes
● Depression
● Poor wound healing
This is why monitoring dietary intake and weight is crucial for maintaining health in older adults and is something we take very seriously as our – and any excellent care home’s – goal is for you to have a long and satisfied lifelong into your retirement.
How Can Care Homes Support Nutrition?
A suitable care home can only provide the proper nutrition; it is still up to you to eat what you want to.
However, good care homes support residents by encouraging healthy – not demanding – eating and drinking practices, providing assistance when needed, and offering a good variety of well-prepared food choices that give residents the best options for their long-term health.
We find that our well-nourished residents experience increased energy, can do more, need fewer medical visits, have improved oral health, and have a better quality of life overall.
Our care team then play a vital role in preventing malnutrition by ensuring you have options to choose a diverse, balanced meal and supervising mealtimes.
However, at the end of the day, it is still your choice on what you eat; we will only help, not force, by providing you with the right foods and tools to help you get the most out of meals.
Hydration in Care Homes
Next up comes hydration. Nutrition, in terms of what you eat, is only one part of the puzzle when it comes to living a long and whole life in your later years. Hydration then makes up another good portion of the jigsaw.
Here, we find that older adults may have a reduced sensitivity to thirst, increasing risk factors around dehydration – which can also be a side effect of medication.
Consequently, good care homes like ours ensure drinks are easily accessible, and we actively remind our residents to drink regularly.
Our team also looks for signs of dehydration that include:
1. Dry mouth
2. Sunken eyes
3. Skin elasticity loss
4. Drowsiness
5. Disorientation
6. Low blood pressure
7. Dizziness
We can then put in place some regular hydration strategies, such as offering you drinks and fruit throughout the day, which is up to you to accept – we won’t force this upon you if you do not want them as well.
Addressing these nutritional and hydration needs can significantly enhance the health and quality of life for care homes’ residents, giving them a much longer and happier life.
Considerations for residents nearing the end of life
For residents nearing the end of life, nutritional considerations can shift and instead focus more on comfort and respecting their wishes.
For instance, their appetite may decrease, so it’s important for our healthcare professionals to offer small, favourite foods that are easy to eat.
Hydration is also key, even if they only want sips of water, we actively listen to their preferences and, as with all residents, will not force meals.
After all, the goal is to provide comfort and maintain their dignity rather than strictly meeting nutritional guidelines, and adjusting care to their needs helps ensure their remaining time is as peaceful and enjoyable as possible.
So What is Dining at a Residential Care Home, Like Swarthmore, In Gerrards Cross Like?
Well, at our care home in Buckinghamshire, which we believe sets a very high standard for the type of residential home you should expect, we have a newly refurbished dining room that offers a bright and inviting space with stunning views of our private landscaped garden and beyond.
We then provide you with very comfortable seating with ample room to move and engage with your fellow residents, which helps to create a very positive dining experience.
Atmosphere
For instance, the dining room provides a welcoming space for residents to catch up with each other, which in turn helps to create pleasant conversations and a more homely atmosphere before lunch.
Staff are then available to assist residents to their tables if needed, offer you drinks, and chat before your meal.
A moment of silent grace precedes lunch, which is then served by our trained staff.
Residents who like to remain independent also have the choice to help themselves with vegetables from platters placed on the table. Allowing and helping you to have a strong level of independence – and help when needed—is a substantial value we try to promote.
Food Quality
Our chefs prepare fresh meals daily using locally sourced vegetables and meat which meet the nutritional levels above.
These meals are nutritious and delicious, with delightful desserts to finish off with as well.
Sunday lunch also features a traditional roast with all the trimmings, accompanied by a glass of sherry or wine as well.
Special Occasions
We also value birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations and provide you with opportunities to enjoy afternoon tea or coffee with cake to help you celebrate the event as well – at the end of the day, what is a birthday or special event without a good tea and cake?
Choice and Preferences
All our residents need to have a say in what they eat and when they eat as well.
This goes from discussing favourite foods with our residents and incorporating them into the menu where we can, which in turn encourages involvement in mealtimes and promotes healthy eating.
A good care home like ours also adapts its menus to accommodate food allergies, eating habits, nourishing drinks, specific dietary requirements, and religious or cultural needs, all while providing you with a greater sense of community. We are proud to offer highly nutritious meals while ensuring a variety of options for everyone.
Availability of Snacks and Drinks
Snacks, juices, and water are always available in residents’ rooms and on dining tables. Teas, coffee, biscuits, and cakes are also offered in the morning and afternoon between meals.
This is then accompanied by plates of tempting fruits, which are also available at certain hydration stations in the home. These help provide you with another form of nutrition and hydration when you want it.
Nutrition in Care Homes Overall
As you can see, good care homes like ours actively plan out and promote healthy living with us. We make meals varied to provide you with the level of nutrition you need to live as long a life as possible.
Related Care Home News & Guides
If you like this guide to the importance in nutrition in care homes, you may also like these other guides and news articles:
Who Is Swarthmore Residential Care Home?
Here at Swarthmore Residential Care Home, we are an independent care home in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, which is regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
We have a strong reputation and a family-like atmosphere, and we can offer you personalised care, focusing on the physical, emotional, and social well-being of all our residents. Our facilities include modern amenities, a variety of social activities, and services like hairdressing and chiropody, for instance.
Our care home also ensures our residents receive tailored care to meet your individual needs, and we aim to create a nurturing and supportive environment for all residents.
Here at Swarthmore, you are not just a number; you are a valued member of our community. As a result, our care team, led by our care home managers’ high-quality and passionate work ethic, actively works to improve the quality of your life and your longevity.