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Conclusion & Implementation
"Promoting Good Nutrition" aims to improve the quality of
nutritional care of adults in Northern Ireland through the prevention, identification and management
of malnutrition in all health and social care settings including people's own homes.
Raising awareness of the causes of malnutrition, identifying those at
risk and ensuring timely intervention will support the implementation of the 10 Key Characteristics
for good nutritional care.
A regional implementation group led by the Public Health Agency will
be established to prioritise and develop an action plan to realise the vision of the strategy. The regional
groups which exist and are already taking forward improvements in nutrition will either be part of the
implementation board, be represented on it, or function as a subgroup.
As part of this process a Nutrition Coalition will be established as
a subgroup of the main group consisting of representatives from the Patient and Client Council, public,
patients, clients and key stakeholder groups from the community and voluntary sector. The role and purpose
of the coalition will be determined by the group however in response to the consultation it is envisaged
that this group will be the public face of the strategy, communicating the wider public health messages,
gaining public confidence and partnership for good nutritional care.
Key to the success of the strategy will be a workforce which values
the role food, fluids and timely nutritional intervention make towards health and well being, and recovery
from illness. An education sub group will be established to ensure education programmes are developed
which build on the knowledge and skills profile to achieve improved nutritional outcomes.
The development of quality indicators and the measurement of outcomes
in nutritional care through standardised audit and practice will ensure the continuous improvement of
nutritional care.
Promoting Good Nutrition presents a significant challenge over the next
5 years, however building on, "Get Your 10 a Day" to include all health and social care settings
including people's own homes, through adoption and translation of the 10 Key Characteristics will make
this vision a reality.
In order to achieve this, providing good nutritional care needs to be
everybody's business.
