Member Article

Care home group raises a cup to health

A Hull based care home group has embraced global Nutrition and Hydration Week by running afternoon tea open events across all of its 20 homes.

Residential and specialist dementia care homes from across The Hica Group invited members of the local community, including friends and family of the residents, schools and local businesses to join in with the Worldwide Afternoon Tea event as part of Nutrition and Hydration Week.

Residents, staff and guests tucked into a range of balanced afternoon tea themed snacks and a choice of homemade sweet treats during the event (Wednesday March 16), which was also used as an opportunity to educate staff, residents and guests on the importance of nutrition and hydration for older people and those with complex needs.

Andy Cullum, food services manager at The Hica Group said: “The afternoon tea event was a fantastic success thanks to our dedicated staff, who all showed a real commitment to the company-wide Shine initiative which encourages going the extra mile. The residents and staff really enjoyed baking and preparing some of their favourite balanced foods for the guests.

“Hica Group staff are highly trained when it comes to best practice on hydration and nutrition, however, events like this refresh and add to that training. Nutrition and hydration are a priority throughout all of our homes as they have such a big impact on health and wellbeing. We take up every opportunity we can to support staff and educate residents, their families and the wider community on the subject.

The national campaign, which runs from Monday March 14 to Friday 18, highlights the importance of good nutrition whilst outlining the impact social isolation has on nutritional intake, especially in older people.

Nutrition and Hydration Week is supported by national and global organisations including the Healthcare Caterers Association, National Association of Care Catering and Patient Safety Domain NHS England. The week is used to encourage individuals and organisations to pledge their support to raising awareness of the importance of nutrition and hydration as an essential element of care.

The Hica Group is a not for profit organisation, which operates a portfolio of 20 residential care homes, five of which are for people with a learning disability, along with two retirement villages. The company also runs a home care service providing approximately 11,500 hours of support and care from four regional offices in the North of England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Hica Group .