meal for patients

1. Meal situation

2. Food and drink
• Meals have many functions:
• to survive
• Culture
• Create feeling of belonging
• Esthetics taste experiences
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3. Serving a meal in institutions
• Serve the food beautifully
• Nicely placed on the plate
• Do not mush the food if the patient can
chew
• Enough time for eating
• Calm surrounding
• Atmosphere influence the appetite
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4. Serving a meal in institutions
• In separate dining hall or in the patient’s
room
• Correct temperature on the food
• If the patient is blind or has reduced vision
place the food according to the food plate
model
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5. Food plate model
• Vegetables to the left
• Potato, rice or pasta on
the upper right side
• Meat, fish or other
protein source to the
lower right side
• The meal include a drink
like milk or water and
vegetarian margarine
• Satisfied for a longer
time, have more energy,
more even blood sugar
levels
• 5 even meals a day
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6. Feeding
• Let the patient eat himself with the help of the
nurse as long as possible, (help him to move his
hand to the moth rather than feed if possible)
• Good position during meals
• Wash your and the patients hands
• No other interventions done in the room at the
same time
• If the patient eats in bed, lift the upper end of the
bed
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7. Feeding
• It might be a sensitive thing for the patient
to be fed, ask for his wishes
• Protect the patient’s clothes with napkin or
bib
• The nurse should have an ergonomic
position when feeding
• Sit opposite the patient and quite close
• Remember to respect the patient
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8. Feeding
• If the nurse is right-handed, she should sit on the
right side of the patient
• The patient should be able to see the food
• Use assisting utensils if needed
• Adapt the feeding according to the patient
• Notice mimics and gestures
• The nurse should pay attention to the feeding
and not other things happening in the room
• Be careful with medicines, difficult to swallow
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9. Feeding
• Small talk increases the appetite
• If the patient can’t see describe the food
served
• Give suitable portions
• Give enough time to chew
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10. Assisting utensils
• Straw
• Cups or mugs
• Adapted cutlery
• Over bed tables
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11. Changing the food
• Drinks can be made thicker to ease the
swallowing
• Food can be mashed or fluid
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12. Assisting utensils
• Stable tables and trays!
• Plates that do not slip!
• Cups and mugs that do not tip over!
• Hot drinks!
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