The booklet covers why older people are more likely to suffer from hydration and how to create safe drinks for people who have problems with swallowing. It also includes recipes that the Care UK teams use to keep residents hydrated, including mocktails, strawberry iced tea and fruit puree drinks.
As well as drinks, the booklet also helps care home colleagues to find out more about how different foods can help residents with hydration. The booklet contains nutrition facts such as a ripe tomato is 94% water, cauliflower is 87% and melon is 90%.
James Clear, hotel services manager at Care UK, commented: “Every single person working in our homes has a role to play in ensuring that people living there are properly hydrated.
“From a maintenance person sitting down with a resident for a mid-morning cuppa to a carer encouraging people to have a piece of fruit as a snack, every interaction helps. With this in mind, I wanted to make sure that our teams have accurate, easy to access information to brush up their knowledge and I think this booklet does that admirably.”