Residential | Dementia | Respite
Residential | Dementia | Respite
Nutrition & Dining
From long-term residential and specialist dementia care, to shorter respite stays, B&M Care is family-run and family-focused. We understand the importance of good, nutritious food, and our person-centred framework ensures that everyone’s needs are always catered for.
Care Home Nutrition
Optimal nutrition and hydration are fundamental to health and wellbeing, regardless of age or capacity. For people living with dementia, everyday tasks such as eating and drinking can be inherently challenging, so we ensure that every effort is made to provide options, and support, that take this into consideration.
Nutritional Needs of Older People
From unintentional weight loss to malnutrition due to changes in memory, taste perception and food preferences, poor nutritional status can lead to diminished quality of life, and in some cases, premature illness.
When a person is living with dementia the reasons for poor nutrition and hydration are multifactorial, and can vary depending on the type and severity of the dementia. However, by adopting a person-centred practice for care home nutrition, as care providers we can evoke interest and appetite to optimise an individual’s health, so their wellbeing flourishes.
Quality Assured Nutrition at B&M Care
Underpinned by our Rose Model of Dementia Care, we believe a person should feel as good as what they eat and drink. This is instilled in each of our homes through wholesome practice and an understanding that goes beyond a typical dining experience, for the highest standards of nutrition.
Stimulating a person’s appetite is crucial when optimising food and fluid intake. Factors proven to influence a person’s appetite include:
- Feeling full from a previous meal
- Activity levels throughout the day (facilitated by varied engagement)
- Evoking interest and desire around food appeal
Care Home Menus
Dining at B&M Care is varied and inclusive of all cultural, dietary and lifestyle requirements, to ensure our residents feel relaxed, comfortable and respected. Each of our homes offers a daily choice of menu options across four set mealtimes, as well as lighter snacks throughout the day, for optimal nutrition:
- Breakfast (continental and cooked, as well as cereal, porridge and fruit options)
- Lunch (typically a three-course sitting with two main course options)
- Light Dinner (one main course and one dessert)
- Supper (an assortment of light bites)
All meal options are prepared by our kitchen teams, who have extensive experience and a passion for creating wholesome cuisine, where nutrition, presentation and a personal touch are paramount.
Each of our homes’ hospitality staff are trained to understand how a person’s dementia or physical capacity can impair their ability to simply enjoy a meal. Through comprehensive training on care home nutrition, as well as our Rose Model of Care that celebrates the ‘whole person’, food is conscientiously prepared and served so that an individual can eat as independently as possible.
At B&M Care, we help our residents to enjoy their meals by:
- Presenting food that is easy to manage
- Using colourful foods to enhance recognition and appeal
- Using adaptive cutlery and dinnerware to assist an individual when moving food from the plate to their mouth
- Preparing soft food using techniques such as puree food moulds to replicate the presentation of a solid food meal, if a person has a swallowing disorder such as dysphagia
We are passionate about making our residents feel truly at home, committed to diversity and learning about cultures different to our own. To help evoke desire around food, many of our homes host regular themed days to welcome an opportunity to taste another country’s cuisine. Previous tastings have included: Africa, America, India, Pakistan and Poland.
Exceptional Dining Environments at B&M Care
At B&M Care, we understand how a setting can influence a person’s dining experience. Aside from comfort and safety, each of our homes’ dining spaces are decorated with a design that encapsulates ambience, immersion and the simplicity of enjoying a meal.
Favouring smaller spaces over larger communal areas, each B&M care home contains several dining rooms to create a comfortable, welcoming dining experience, including:
- Informal décor
- Removing multiple layers of noise (such as televisions and radios, as well as understanding the impact of food trolleys clattering and how loud staff are talking)
- Visual table-top menus (to encourage independence when choosing a meal)
- Smaller groups of people (to enhance meaningful socialisation and to actively reduce noise and distraction)
- Clear lines of sight to outdoor living space and natural light
- Creating a familiar and recognisable space (signposting, wayfinding, colour schemes)
Get in Touch
To find out more about B&M Care and our commitment to exceptional care home nutrition, contact us today to speak with a member of our team.