Oh look good nutrition is just so
important for elderly people. We've worked very hard to provide a balanced meal. We made so many changes over the years, just even very simple things that we hadn't thought of like providing water providing fruit and cheeses for morning tea instead of sweets, looking at the menu and the vegetable count, not just having pasta, just a whole range of things.
Every mouthful does count. So part of our role now with the
Community Dementia Service is that we assess all new clients
with a nutritional assessment. The screening helps us to identify little problems before they become big problems. Now with the guidelines we know exactly what we're looking for and what to do and who to approach, who to refer off to if we've got an issue or problem that's bigger than we can deal with or the GP. I think that is possibly helping a lot of our clients have a much better quality of life,
than they would have had prior to that. As a service we've noticed that when our clients are eating well their nutrition is well supported, bladder and bowel control is better,
wounds heal much quicker, and their whole outlook on life because everything functioning properly, is much better and much brighter. And they feel a lot more independent
and they feel a lot happier and a lot safer. Our role at the day centre here is really important to support good nutrition and that's what we do.
We're offering the clients lots of fluids now because it helps keep them well
and stopping dehydration, so we're telling them about the importance
of drinking all the time, especially in the summer months when it gets hot and it's working because they're actually asking to drink more water now, and we take it with us everywhere. Each month we have a newsletter
and we put nutrition information in it. all of the time we're using the Appetite for Life manual. Our focus is fun and staying well, as long as you can. Helping our clients eat well is important for their health and well being,
and for their independence. You build up a good relationship
with your regular clients, so you notice changes in what they're
buying, and how much they're buying. When it comes to shopping we can
keep an eye out on specials so that we can suggest the fruit and veg on sale. In clients homes we might help by cutting up veggies and preparing them for that night's meal.
We can provide good ideas, information and encouragement. Eating with friends gives a lot of people in the community, especially the elderly that opportunity to reconnect with eating. As they've progressed in age, they now are the lovely recipients of the volunteers actually preparing their meals and serving them, so it's a bit like going to a restaurant. Food is that wonderful connector, and it really does bring out the conversations and the chatter, and all that discussion that goes around nutrition and health and how you're feeling. It's the socialization, the conversation and also to be able to have a two-course meal. You know, you need your friends, you need your family, you need those social supports,
and you need that connection, and that's what eating with friends does.