Nutrition & Hydration Including Fluid Balance

Promoting Wellbeing Through Nutritional Awareness and Hydration Management

Maintaining proper nutrition and hydration is essential to supporting health, recovery, and quality of life, particularly for individuals in health and social care settings. This course equips care professionals with the knowledge and skills to assess, monitor, and support individuals’ nutritional and hydration needs, while ensuring compliance with current care regulations and best practices.

Participants will learn to recognise the signs and consequences of malnutrition and dehydration, explore strategies for encouraging healthy eating and drinking, and gain confidence in using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (M.U.S.T.) to assess risk.

What You Will Learn

✔ Defining Nutrition & Hydration – Understand what constitutes good nutrition and hydration, and why they are vital in care environments.

✔ Risk Factors – Identify physical, psychological, and social factors that increase the risk of malnutrition and dehydration, including age, illness, medications, and cognitive decline.

✔ Recognising Malnutrition & Dehydration – Learn the warning signs and symptoms, and understand the short- and long-term health risks associated with poor nutrition and fluid intake.

✔ Balanced Diets & Adequate Hydration – Explore the components of a nutritious diet, daily fluid requirements, and how to tailor intake to meet individual health conditions.

✔ Practical Support Strategies – Discover ways to encourage appetite and fluid intake, including meal planning, modified diets, food fortification, and supportive feeding techniques.

✔ Conditions Affecting Diet & Hydration – Learn about common conditions such as dysphagia, dementia, gastrointestinal disorders, and mental health issues, and how they impact nutritional status.

✔ Understanding Fluid Balance – Understand the importance of fluid balance charts, accurate recording, and the impact of fluid loss or retention.

✔ Using M.U.S.T. Screening – Gain practical training in applying the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool to assess nutritional risk and plan interventions.

Who Should Attend?

✅ Ideal for care workers, nurses, healthcare assistants, support staff, and catering teams in health and social care environments.

Why Choose This Course?

✅ Promotes early intervention and improves nutritional outcomes.
✅ Ensures compliance with CQC and NICE guidelines.
✅ Builds confidence in assessing, recording, and supporting dietary needs.

📅 Course Availability: Available for in-house training or as an open course at selected locations.