Making eating and drinking for our patients a better, safer experience
Speech and language therapists play a vital role in the feeding of our patients and during Nutrition and Hydration Week [17-23 March], they like to put their work in the spotlight.
Our Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Team were holding a stall in Choices restaurant at Hillingdon to mark Swallowing Awareness Day.
Jo Wright and Molly Crehan were keen to explain: “We assess and manage patients with communication and swallowing difficulties, secondary to a range of conditions including but not limited to, age-related changes, trauma, neurology, respiratory and congenital conditions such as; frailty, stroke, TBI, Parkinson's Disease, dementia, COPD, learning disability and tracheostomy”.
Any patient with a swallow impairment – called dysphagia - is at risk of aspiration (when food, fluids or saliva ‘go the wrong way’ - towards the lungs instead of the stomach). This can result in chest infections, aspiration pneumonia and can lead to malnutrition and dehydration.
Anne Byrne, Head of Catering, was perusing the stall packed with aids for dysphagia patients, such as specially thickened drinks, juices, powdered drink mixes and mouth swabs, and she explained how our Trust collaborates among teams to get the best outcome for patients.
She said: “We use the IDDSI framework (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative). It’s brilliant and it makes it so much easier for us to make sure that we are doing the right thing, and it also avoids miscommunications.”
She explained how the kitchen team works closely with dietitians and SLTs to ensure a patient’s meal is just right. Liaison with suppliers such as Apetito, our Trust’s patient catering contractor, means products delivered to the hospital are appropriate.
IDDSI is a standard framework that can be used to describe the characteristics of foods and drinks - from the point of view of a person with swallowing difficulties. This describes all consistencies from thin fluids (level 0) to regular diet (level 7).
Furthermore, Jo said: “We also work closely with our colleagues in catering to ensure that patients who have additional dietary requirements, such as gluten-free or dairy-free diets, receive meals that are also a safe consistency for them to eat. Anne and her team are brilliant at coming up with solutions and sourcing appropriate, IDDSI-compliant meals for patients.”
Sharing space on their stall were a selection of cakes, biscuits and puddings. Molly explained that SLTs assess patients’ swallowing for safety and function and make patient-specific recommendations based on texture and consistency. They then work closely with the Trust’s dietitians to ensure that these recommendations meet nutrition and hydration requirements.
Each year during Nutrition and Hydration Week, our Facilities Catering Team likes to serve ‘high tea’ on the wards, giving patients a bit of a treat with a few additional goodies – cakes, biscuits, desserts – during an afternoon trolley round. This year, because of the warmer weather during the week, an additional special delivery of iced lollies gave a cooling treat to patients on Thursday 20 March, which also happened to be World Day of Happiness.
It’s fantastic to see our teams working closely to provide the nutrition patients need while making eating and drinking a safe and enjoyable experience
Sarah Burton, Trust Chief Nurse, said: “Good food has always been fundamental to great patient care, supporting both recovery and comfort. Ensuring safe nutrition is particularly important for patients with swallowing difficulties, and it’s fantastic to see our teams working closely to provide the nutrition patients need while making eating and drinking a safe and enjoyable experience.
“It’s also a pleasure to give our patients a little treat, and I know our catering staff really enjoy this week, especially serving a special ‘high tea’.”
Pictures: (top) Molly Crehan and Jo Wright, speech and language therapists, with Anne Byrne, Head of Catering, at an information stall as part of Nutrition and Hydration Week. (centre) Specially thickened liquids, used in the treatment of dysphagia patients. (above) Housekeeper Patricia Ivaldi delivers an ice lolly to patient Sheila Ashe and her family on Drayton Ward at Hillingdon Hospital