| answer text |
<p>It is for health and social care providers to develop local nutrition and hydration
policies and there are a number of best practice resources and guidelines available
to help providers do this.</p><br /><p>Nursing staff understand the importance of
proper nutrition and will follow guidelines in assessing patients for their ability
to swallow safely. From this they can make judgements about a patient’s capability
to eat and drink safely and adequately, which will include taking into account whether
they are heavily medicated or not.</p><br /><p>The National Patient Safety Agency
and the Royal College of Nursing published a series of factsheets in 2009, setting
out the key characteristics of good nutritional care in healthcare environments.</p><br
/><p><a href="http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/resources/?entryid45=59865" target="_blank">http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/resources/?entryid45=59865</a></p><br
/><p>It includes the Council of Europe 10 key characteristics of good nutritional
care in hospitals, which recommends that all patients are screened on admission to
identify the patients who are malnourished or at risk of becoming malnourished; all
patients are re-screened weekly; and all patients have a care plan which identifies
their nutritional care needs and how they are to be met.</p><br /><p>The National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE<em>) Quality standard for nutrition
support in adults</em></p><br /><p><a href="http://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS24"
target="_blank">www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS24</a></p><br /><p>defines clinical best
practice for adults in hospital and the community who are at risk of malnutrition.
And NICE <em>Nutrition support in adults: Oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding
and parenteral nutrition</em></p><br /><p><a href="http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32"
target="_blank">www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32</a></p><br /><p>offers best practice
advice to help healthcare professionals correctly identify people in hospital and
the community who need nutrition support, and enable them to choose and deliver the
most appropriate nutrition support at the most appropriate time.</p><p><br> <br></p>
|
|
