Improving opportunities for food service and dietetics practice in hospitals and resident aged care facilities

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                As we all may know, nutrition is a vital aspect of patient care in not only a clinical setting, but also in long term care. One of the biggest concerns is primarily preventing malnutrition in patients to ensure better health outcomes. According to the article, “Although malnutrition is a significant issue, there appears to be a lack of awareness of malnutrition among hospital staff and management, perhaps because of such issues as lack of knowledge and training regarding nutritional status and assessment, communication issues, and their inability to recognize food and nutrition as key part of care” (Walton, 2012). With the elderly population being at a higher risk of malnutrition, it is extremely important that this topic is made aware by all patient support staff.

                One specific topic that the article addressed was food or plate waste. To an extent this cannot be completely avoided, it does impose quite a financial burden on many facilities with food waste averaging approximately 30%, and ranging from 6-65% (Walton, 2012). The article recommends making foods more appealing through the display of the dish, along with providing a comfortable atmosphere for the residents.

Along with this, dietitians mush serve as liaison between the health care team to communicate the needs of each patient to improve nutrient intake. There is not one quick fix for improving intake and every patient is different, so it requires a full team effort with innovative ideas to solve these dilemmas. It is also part of the dietitian’s job to assist in educating all medical staff on the benefits of proper nutrition. This will ensure that the patient will improve recovery as well as prevent any more issues from arising. Communicating this to nursing staff especially was noted specifically.

From the perspective of a management position, it is in the interest of the patient as well as the organization to support the nutritional needs of a patient and help to treat illness with nutrition and prevent deficiencies. As new research supports these theories, organizations have been placing more emphasis on dietitians and educating staff of a superior nutritional approach to health care. This article demonstrates the growing demands of dietitians in the food service management field.

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References:
Walton, K. (2012). Improving opportunities for food service and dietetics practice in hospitals and residential aged care facilities. Nutrition & Dietetics, 69(3), 222-225.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=08d9cd6c-7ff9-4200-9709-aeed62d6539d%40sessionmgr112&vid=1&hid=106

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 5, 2018 at 1:31 PM

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  2. UnknownJanuary 24, 2018 at 1:14 AM

    Your provided information is very helpful.
    Aged care homes facilities

    ReplyDelete

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