Nutritional and Hydration Lead

Based at Rowan Lodge, Crown Lane, Newnham, Basingstoke, RG27 9AN – a beautiful and modern family owned and managed care home with a CQC rating of “good” in all five areas.

** Above and Beyond Winner – A Place to be Proud of Awards 2024**

** Finalist in the Leadership Award – National Activity Providers Association Awards 2023*

**9.8 Review Score on carehome.co.uk**

This is a really exciting opportunity for the right person. Reporting to the Home Manager, this newly created role will work alongside our existing motivated and happy team already working at our Rowan Lodge care home, with a common goal of making a difference in people’s lives. It is a chance to bring innovative ideas to the team and really make the role your own. Would suit a Care Assistant or Senior Care Assistant with a real passion and interest in Nutrition and Hydration.

At Forest Care, we are proud to create positive working environments in each of our care homes by encouraging employee participation, in line with our ethos of a person-centred approach to holistic care.

We are looking for someone to commit to 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday and in return can offer a competitive salary of £15 per hour and some great benefits;

• 28 days Holiday (for full time workers)
• Enhanced pay for Bank Holidays
• Comprehensive induction training
• Ongoing training and development
• Auto-enrolment Pension Scheme
• Full supporting Training/Qualifications
• Refer a Friend Scheme
• Paid breaks
• Free Uniform
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7 covering a full range of issues. Includes perks and discounts too!
• Blue Light Staff Discount Card, Employee of the Month, Appreciation weeks and many more!

Candidates will need access to their own transport to apply for this role.

Main duties of our Nutritional and Hydration Lead

To liaise between the departments to lead improvements in nutrition across the home.

Nursing team

• Work alongside Nurses to create Nutritional care plans to meet the needs of each resident.
• To be present at SALT assessments to ensure all information relating to a resident is documented correctly to assist with their nutritional needs
• To be informed of any residents placed on nutritional/hydration watch by the Nursing team and ensure that care staff are recording correctly on MCM

Kitchen

• To work with the Head Chef / Chefs in the kitchen to ensure that the correct nutritional information is being reported to all kitchen staff.
• To update and inform kitchen staff when changes to a diet have been agreed by SALT.
• Make sure modified diets are correctly delivered to a resident and in a timely fashion to avoid changes in consistency and potential choking hazard
• To meet with the head chef to contribute to menu options and ideas on new and improved modified diets
• To be actively involved in the dining experience on all floors bringing variety in foods and fluids offered daily
• To ensure the Coffee shop and additional nutrition stations around the home are stocked with snacks and drinks for residents’ choice throughout the day
• To research new and innovative ways of presenting modified diets and working with the Kitchen staff to present them in an appealing way

Care Team

• To liaise with senior carers and the care supervisor to inform and audit the nutritional needs of all residents.
• To work with the care team to input correctly when residents are on nutritional/fluid watch, amounts of fluids offered and consumed
• To audit the consumption of fluids and inform the nursing team daily on resident’s progress

Activities

• To liaise with the activity team in meaningful activities in relation to better nutrition and hydration for all residents
• To inform the activity team on which residents are on nutrition/fluid watch and modified diets

Skills and Experience of our Nutritional and Hydration Lead:

• Must have excellent communication skills between departments and different levels of staff and residents
• Experience in a Care setting is essential, along with a working knowledge and understanding of International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI)
• Understanding of care plans and using electronic care records
• Must possess or be willing to work towards their Diploma in Diet and Nutrition – fully supported by Forest Care
• Must have an interest in Nutrition and Hydration and a passion for making a difference to our residents’ lives
• Willingness and ability to listen to adapt to residents’ needs and requirements in an ever-changing environment

While it is no longer a requirement that people we employ are vaccinated against Covid-19, we still strongly believe that vaccination remains the best line of defence and we therefore continue to encourage all current and prospective staff to be fully vaccinated.

Please note this position is subject to a DBS check.