NEWS RELEASE FROM
THE REGISTERED NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION
Issued 5th January 2006
RNHA PLEA TO MAKE SURE OLDER PEOPLE
ARE PROPERLY FED IN 2006
As the season of what is usually over-indulgence and over-eating for most people draws to a close, the Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA) has stressed the need to ensure that vulnerable older people do not suffer from malnutrition during 2006.
RNHA chief executive officer, Frank Ursell, has called for extra vigilance over the coming year from everyone who looks after older people, whether in residential care, hospital or in their own homes.
Said Mr Ursell: “Maintaining a healthy, nutritional diet in old age is absolutely vital to health and well-being. It is something that formal and informal carers alike must take very seriously.”
To reinforce his simple message of ‘let’s make sure older people get fed properly in 2006’, Mr Ursell has recommended nursing home managers and staff to make use of a nutritional screening tool developed by the Malnutrition Advisory Group of BAPEN (the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition) and supported by the Registered Nursing Home Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the British Dietetic Association.
Entitled MUST (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool), the tool involves the use of five key steps designed to:
* calculate an older person’s body mass index on a regular basis;
* measure any unplanned weight loss;
* assess the implications of particular diseases for the patient’s nutritional well-being;
* assess the potential risk of malnutrition; and
* work out a care plan that ensures the most appropriate diet for that individual.
Commented Mr Ursell: “Systematic observation using reliable, consistent techniques is indispensable in a nursing home environment. We have to demonstrate a highly professional approach to this crucially important aspect of caring for older people with complex health needs.”
During 2006, the RNHA plans to focus heavily on supporting its member nursing homes with information and advice on a whole range of quality indicators, including diet and nutrition.
END
For further information please contact Frank Ursell, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nursing Home Association (Tel: 07785 227000 or 0121-454 2511)
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