Brookholme Care Home’s Top Ten Nutritional Tips

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Providing the perfect nutrition for our residents is extremely important at Brookholme Care Home in Chesterfield. We know that the correct food and drink go hand in hand with excellent care. A diet that is full of nutrition is one of the key factors in older people keeping healthy.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the regulator for the care home industry and their guidance states that nutritional care is not only about a resident’s personal choice. It includes listening to a resident’s cultural needs and considering their physical requirements. Staff should be trained to give good dietary care, and nutritional guidance should be available to staff, the residents themselves, and their families.

At Brookholme Care Home in Chesterfield, mealtimes are very important. We have witnessed first-hand how a resident’s diet, hydration, and nutrition can really improve when a resident moves into our home. It is not unusual for a person’s appetite to reduce as they get older, so it can often be a challenge to keep older people interested in food. At Brookholme, we have developed several ways to counter this.

Below are our top ten guidelines to ensure positive nutrition and hydration in our care home.

Brookholme Care Home’s Top Ten Nutritional Tips for Care Home Residents

1. Offer a wholesome and fresh menu – At Brookholme, we our proud to offer a freshly prepared daily menu packed with nutritional and fresh food. Each menu is based on the preferences that we know our residents enjoy. We try to source seasonal and local produce whenever possible. Our excellent catering team at Brookholme Care Home works hard to create menus that are appetising, delicious and full of fresh fruit and vegetables.
2. Take a note of special dietary requirements – Keeping a record of your residents’ dietary requirements means that you can plan ahead and cater for everyone.  With so many different requirements including Coeliac, diabetic, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian, you will need to be familiar with every resident’s personal plan. Every dietary requirement at Brookholme Care Home is considered so that all meals are nutritionally balanced.
3. Keep snacks on hand – We know from experience that hunger can strike our residents at any time of the day or night, so we always keep a good supply of snacks at Brookholme Care Home. Our selection of hot and cold drinks, and snacks are available at all times. This includes homemade cakes and other treats – always a favourite with our visitors at Brookholme.
4. Take pride in presentation – Our Brookholme kitchen staff take great pride in preparing meals that are safely prepared and beautifully presented. We know that this can encourage our residents to eat more. All staff are all trained in food hygiene and food handling, along with health and safety practices. And it is not only the food that is well presented. The Brookholme Care Home team like to provide a homely, clean, and pleasant eating environment where residents can eat safely and in comfort.
5. Always provide a choice of mealtime – We have learned that some residents at Brookholme Care Home enjoy the structure of three traditional meals a day, whereas others to eat at different times. At Brookholme, we are proud to offer a choice of hot and cold options at every meal, along with lighter options and other snacks. This gives our residents the option to make their preferred choice every day.
6. Get to know your residents’ personal preferences – We pay such close attention to the preferences of our residents that we know exactly when, how, and what our residents like to teat. Our experienced care and catering staff at Richmond Care Home take the time to get to know each resident’s preferences, including those based on faith, culture, and ethnicity.
7. Encourage group dining – At Brookholme Care Home we encourage our residents to eat together in the dining room. We know that eating with company can have many nutritional and social benefits. However, if residents would prefer to eat on their own in their own room, or our social areas, they are very welcome to do so.
8. Be mindful of change – A resident’s food and drink preferences may change over time. At Brookholme we regularly review each resident’s circumstances as we know that changes in health can affect a resident’s choices and needs over time. Every resident is like family to us so we strive to do all we can to provide support and adapt throughout each resident during their stay with us.
9. Be on hand to help – The team at Brookholme is always on hand to encourage residents and help them during mealtimes. We fully believe in each resident’s right to enjoy their food and eat at their own pace. Therefore, we ensure that we are with residents to offer the additional help that they may need. We also provide other tools to help a resident eat independently. This includes liquidised foods, adapted crockery and cutlery, and finger foods.
10. Encourage residents to get involved – Many of our residents enjoyed cooking in the past, and still enjoy taking part in baking and cooking activities. At Brookholme, we actively encourage residents to get involved with baking tasks. It’s a great way for our residents to use their hidden skills and have the opportunity to get back in the kitchen.

Brookholme Care Home in Chesterfield is a well-loved, family-run care home home. If you would like to know more about our care home, please call us on 01246 569662 or email info@brookholme.co.uk