Support indiviuals to Eat and Drink Essay Example

individual and assessing how they are coping at meal times (you can see they need you to hold up their cup to drink for example). It can also mean reading the person's care plan to see if their are any special needs with regards to eating/drinking , talking to other staff and also talking to the person's relatives for information (especially if the person is new to you).

3.1 Describe factors that help promote an individual's dignity, comfort and enjoyment while eating and drinking. Assess their needs. Provide a calm environment in a seperate dining area if possible. Maintain their dignity, provide them with any necessary aids to eating and drinking for example in the case of an individual with an arthritic condition provide cutlery with large handles. Ensure there is a drink available and that their diet is adeqaute for their needs. Allow them to state their preference for certain food and ensure they receive the correct food. If they wear dentures check they are being worn. Give them psychological support and encourage them. Assist with feeding them if required.

4.1 Explain why it is important to be sure that an individual has chosen to finish eating and drinking before clearing away. So the service users food and drink intake can be monitored for any abnormallities to their normal diet. So to maintain the service user dignity and promote thier personal choices and self esteem.

5.1 Explain the importance of monitoring the food and drink an individual consumes and any difficulties they encounter. Food and drink intake monitoring is important as its one way to see if someone is feeling unwell

(for example if someone usually has a healthy appitite and they suddenly start to eat much less its a sign they could be unwell). Monitoring difficulties is important as it can help carers to see if the person has deteriorated in health etc (for example if someone has trouble using cutlery when they didnt used too it could show a deterioration in there condition).