- Indication
- Nutrition Support - Malnutrition
- RAG rating
- n/a
- Document type
- Patient information
- Place
- Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB
- Output type
- Pharmacy / Prescribing
- Document
- Download
Care homes & ONS - Relatives and friends information
How healthcare staff support care homes to treat malnutrition: Relative/carer information
As you may be aware, your relative/friend is at high risk of
malnutrition because they have a low body weight and/or have lost weight
without trying to.
How is malnutrition treated?
Healthcare staff are working with carers, caterers, nurses
and managers at the home to help support your relative/friend’s nutritional
intake using a food-based approach. This is one of the most important
treatments for malnutrition.
A food-based approach means encouraging nutritious drinks
and between meal snacks, and "fortifying” food using extra, nutrient-dense
household ingredients. "Food fortification” should provide a range of nutrients
including calories, protein, vitamins and minerals. "Fortifying” food enables
someone with malnutrition to improve their nutritional intake without the need
to increase the amount they eat, so it still works even when someone’s food
intake is quite small. The "fortified” food still looks and tastes good and
will still be enjoyable.
Food and mealtimes are vital for us for lots of reasons,
beyond simply providing nutrition. Sharing food with others is part of what
makes us human, so supporting people to continue to eat with others can help
people to enjoy mealtimes and can help improve nutritional intake.
What will be monitored?
Your relative/friend should be weighed more frequently to
keep a close eye on their weight. Staff may complete food record charts for a
short time (usually 3 – 5 days) to monitor how much, when and what sort of
things they eat and drink. The care staff will review this to make sure the
changes made are still appropriate for your relative/friend.
What about oral nutritional supplements?
Oral nutritional supplements are prescribed medicines that
can come in a variety of forms, the most common of which are milkshakes. Just
like ordinary food, they provide a range of nutrients including calories,
protein, vitamins and minerals – but there is nothing in them which cannot be
obtained from food.
Some people may need oral nutritional supplements in
addition to food, but these products are much less likely to be needed for
people living in care homes compared with people living in their own homes.
This is because in care homes catering staff can produce homemade supplements
using ordinary household ingredients, which often contain the same or more
nutrition than prescribed products. Homemade versions are often also tastier
because they are freshly made.
A prescription of oral nutritional supplements does not
guarantee an improvement in nutritional intake or weight gain and is no more
likely to achieve these aims or any other improvements in health and wellbeing
than when a "food based” approach is used.
My relative has swallowing problems and has been advised to take thickened fluids – what should they have?
For people who are at high risk of malnutrition and who have
been advised to have thickened fluids due to diagnosed swallowing difficulties,
pre-thickened oral nutritional supplements exist. These may be helpful for
residents with swallowing difficulties compared with trying to thicken homemade
products.
Who can I contact for more information?
Staff at the home work closely with healthcare staff and should be able to answer any questions you have regarding your relative/friend. If you require further information, please ask a member of staff from the home.
- Version number
- 1.0
- Developed by
- HWE ICB PMOT
- Approved by
- HWE APC
- Date approved / updated
- March 2023
- Review date
- The recommendation is based upon the evidence available at the time of publication. This recommendation will be reviewed upon request in the light of new evidence becoming available.
- Superseded version
- n/a