Nutrition & Hydration in Care Homes: The Details That Define Good Care

In care homes, nutrition and hydration are often talked about as part of daily routine. In reality, they are a key part of clinical care, influencing everything from infection rates to recovery times and overall wellbeing. From a catering and food safety perspective, we see first-hand how small, consistent actions (the right meal, the right support, the right timing) can make a measurable difference.

Nutrition and hydration week (17th – 23rd March) focuses attention on that reality, but for care homes it isn’t a once-a-year issue. Good food and regular fluids are part of safe, everyday care.

Malnutrition is more common than many people realise. Recent national screening found that around 42% of care home residents were at risk of malnutrition¹, highlighting how widespread the problem is.

Likewise, dehydration contributes to avoidable illness and hospital admissions. Practical, low-cost measures (like regular drink rounds) can make a measurable difference: one quality-improvement project reported a 58% reduction in UTIs needing antibiotics and a 36% fall in UTI-related hospital admissions² after introducing structured drink rounds and staff training.

As people age, appetite and thirst cues often change and the immune system weakens. That makes food more than fuel, it becomes a tool for resilience!

• Protein for strength
• Vitamins and minerals for repair, and
• Familiar, appealing dishes to encourage intake.
• Equally, much of a person’s fluid intake comes from food (soups, fruit, yogurt) so the menu matters for hydration as much as drinks do.

The signs of a problem are often subtle, like losing weight without trying, clothes fitting looser, low energy or smaller portions left on the plate. These are the moments when staff action matters most - spotting the change, flagging it, and putting simple steps in place before things escalate.

We also have to look after our teams. Caring is physically demanding work and when employees miss breaks or don’t hydrate, their focus and resilience fall. Supporting employees to eat and drink properly is part of keeping standards high in homes.

Across the North West, food also holds memory and comfort. Serving a familiar dish, sharing a cup of tea, or adapting meals to cultural tastes can boost appetite and create a sense of home, small things that matter to someone’s day.

At Dovehaven, this is where our values come to life!

• ‍Compassion in noticing the small changes
• ‍Accountability in acting early
• ‍Excellence in how we plan and deliver meals
• ‍Respect in understanding individual preferences
• ‍Strength in unity across our teams working together

From a catering perspective, we know that when food and hydration are right, everything else works better, for our residents and for the teams supporting them.

If good nutrition and hydration are important to you when choosing care, find out more about our homes here.

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‍Sources

1: https://www.bapen.org.uk/bapen-news/bapen-publishes-its-annual-malnutrition-and-nutritional-care-survey-report-2023/

2: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334390923_Reducing_urinary_tract_infections_in_care_homes_by_improving_hydration_BMJ_Quality_Improvement_report

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