Welcome back to our ‘A Day in the Life’ series, where we chat to HILS team members to see what they get up to in a typical day and the impact their efforts have on clients across our services.
This month we are going to hear from Kian. Kian works in the Nutrition & Wellbeing Team alongside Stuart from our last ‘Day in the Life of’ post, but he is going to be detailing a slightly different aspect of that role.
Kian is going to give us a glimpse of a day working as part of the Nutrition Awareness Team (NAT), and let us see how he supports and trains care homes across the west of Hertfordshire to provide excellent nutrition care for their residents. This service is free to care homes catering to older people and people with learning disabilities.
Meet Kian…
Morning routine
I start my day at 7am with a bit of yoga and meditation for 30 minutes. This helps me center myself and sets a positive tone for the day. From 7:30am to 8am, I hit the gym for a quick workout. This morning routine is essential for me as it energises me and puts me in a great state of mind.
By 8:30am, I’m back home and ready for breakfast. I make a nutritious smoothie with fruit, oats, and nuts. At 9am, I open my laptop to check emails and review the details of the care home I’ll be visiting to deliver training to staff. I ensure I have the correct address and details, and I review previous training notes so I am able to tailor my session to the care home’s needs. I also gather all my training equipment and place it by the door to avoid any last-minute rush.
On the road
I give myself about an hour to travel to the care home, aiming to arrive 20 minutes early. This allows me to set up the room and training materials. Training sessions can take place in various settings, such as dining rooms, living rooms, offices, or even cinema rooms!
Once the care home staff have gathered, usually around six members but sometimes more, I ask them to complete a registration form. Before diving into the training, I encourage everyone to introduce themselves and share their favourite meal. This icebreaker is more important then it first appears as it highlights the importance of quality meals for residents.
The training covers several key topics:
- How to assess clients’ needs
- The steps to manage malnutrition
- Using food fortification and homemade supplements
- Ensuring meals and fluids have the right texture
- Presenting food in texture-modified diets
After delivering this first part of the training, we take a 10 minute break for a tea or a coffee. I find this is a great time for everyone to absorb the information they have received during the session and ask any questions to assist and cement understanding.
We then move on to the second part of the training which includes:
- Malnutrition and food fortification
- Oral nutritional supplements
- Diabetes and malnutrition
- IDDSI (International Dysphagia Standardisation Initiative)
- Hydration and snacking
- Eating with dementia
- Food environment
Everything we discuss is so important when it comes to clients in care homes and allowing the staff to identify and meet their needs.
Wrapping up
Once the training is complete, I ask the staff to fill out a feedback form. The feedback is usually very positive, which is always encouraging! I then head home, which typically takes about an hour. I arrive home around 2:30pm and have a light lunch, usually a salad with falafel and crispy chickpeas.
Afternoon tasks
After lunch, I check my emails and complete some administrative tasks. This includes inputting feedback scores into our information systems and updating the Hertfordshire Care Trust monthly report. By 5pm, my workday is done, and I unwind by playing football or tennis in the evening.
And that’s a typical day in my life as a Nutrition and Wellbeing Visitor for HILS. It’s a fulfilling role that allows me to make a positive impact on the lives of care home residents and clients across Hertfordshire.
We are so grateful to team members like Kian. Are you interested in joining the HILS family alongside great people like Kian? Check out our current vacancies, where you can see our vacancies across Hertfordshire, Hampshire and West Sussex. We’d love to hear from you.
