The campaign launched in July, with a number of information stands being held in hospital receptions across the county. The information stand was at the Kidderminster Hospital on Wednesday 16 July from 9am-12pm. The stand offered further information about the campaign and health staff will be on-hand to offer hints and tips to help people stay hydrated.
Then in October the second part of the campaign was launched to educate health and care home staff about keeping residents and patients hydrated. This included a number of education events at care homes across the county and the creation of a toolkit, which included hydration charts, a urine colour chart, information booklet and posters to help promote the importance of hydration.
Catherine Whitehouse, Deputy Executive Nurse - Quality and Patient Safety for NHS Wyre Forest CCG said: “The Stay Hydrated, Stay Healthy campaign aims to promote the health benefits of staying hydrated and remind people that a good fluid intake can help cut back on unnecessary hospital admissions.
“When people, especially older people are admitted to hospital, they can experience complications in their care if they’re dehydrated.
“There are plenty of things people can do to stay hydrated, for example, drinking water regularly throughout the day, eating more fresh fruit and vegetables and remembering to drink more when they exercise or if the weather is hot.”
Information stands were held in hospital receptions across the county, including at Kidderminster Hospital, find out more about how they went.
How to tell if you’re dehydrated
- Thirst
- Dry mouth
- Headache
- Constipation
- Dizziness
- Muscle cramps
- Impaired vision and concentration
- Fatigue
Hints and tips to stay hydrated
Useful links and resources
Hydration video
The below video highlights the work that is currently taking place in Worcestershire aimed at improving hydration levels of the public and educating health and care home staff about the importance of keeping their residents/patients hydrated.
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