Each individual will have different needs, preferences and abilities.
It is best practice to read their care plan to be able to meet these needs. The care plan will also highlight any food allergies and what food needs to be avoided.
Food should always be placed within reach of individuals with special thought and care given to people who have restricted movement or mobility. It is important to make sure they have the correct utensils to be able to eat.
These are some examples of bad practice so you can avoid them but also to get you thinking about the situations you may come across.
You should not cut or liquidize food for people if this is not required. Before leaving an individual, make sure you ask them if they have everything they need.
This is an extract from a CQC inspection report.
“One person told us they had pureed food and felt that the portions were too big as they were unable to eat more than a few spoonfuls.
They said staff ‘Can’t understand I can’t take it, they keep bringing it’.”
CQC continue… “We observed at lunchtime that the person was served a large portion and refused their meal after trying a small amount. We saw the person was quite frustrated by being given portions they could not eat.
The person was then offered a cheese sandwich. However, they were given chips with salad and a chunk of cheese which they did not eat. Staff did not give them a reason why they could not have the sandwich they had chosen and no further main meal choices were offered when they did not eat their meal.”
This is another extract from a CQC inspection report.
“Staff concentrated on delivering the food in a timely manner, but people were not always positioned in a way that helped them to eat without assistance. For example, food was left for a person (who was lying in bed) by their bedside table. The person was slumped in bed and the table was not near the person. The person had to call for assistance.”
...and another…
“We observed a care assistant remove a tray without asking if the patient had finished.”
...and another…
“The food charts were not always completed for evening meals and had not been reviewed to ensure that people’s nutritional needs were regularly updated. This meant that there was insufficient evidence to inform decisions about treatments and interventions in order to ensure people were protected from inadequate nutrition and hydration.”
There are lots of good things to learn from poor performance highlighted by CQC.
Some of these things might seem obvious but clearly they do happen.
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