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| How care home keeps elderly healthy | How care home keeps elderly healthy |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| By Jane Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News Jean Lavender has been drinking more water under the scheme | By Jane Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News Jean Lavender has been drinking more water under the scheme |
| A year ago, 88-year-old Jean Lavender used to find walking any distance a struggle. | A year ago, 88-year-old Jean Lavender used to find walking any distance a struggle. |
| Now she is keen to get outside for a walk most days. | Now she is keen to get outside for a walk most days. |
| And she puts the transformation down to the most simple of medicines - water. | And she puts the transformation down to the most simple of medicines - water. |
| She is one of a group of residents at a care home in Suffolk who have been encouraged to increase their intake of water. | She is one of a group of residents at a care home in Suffolk who have been encouraged to increase their intake of water. |
| And they have all reported dramatic results. | And they have all reported dramatic results. |
| Jean says she feels 20 years younger. | Jean says she feels 20 years younger. |
| "I feel more alert - more cheerful too. I'm not a miserable person, but it's added a sort of zest." | "I feel more alert - more cheerful too. I'm not a miserable person, but it's added a sort of zest." |
| Staff at The Martins care home in Bury St Edmunds started a "water club" for their residents last summer. | Staff at The Martins care home in Bury St Edmunds started a "water club" for their residents last summer. |
| Residents were encouraged to drink eight to 10 glasses of water a day, water coolers were installed, and they were each given a jug for their room. | Residents were encouraged to drink eight to 10 glasses of water a day, water coolers were installed, and they were each given a jug for their room. |
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| The views of some residents after drinking more water | |
| They report significant improvements in health as a result - many fewer falls, fewer GP call-outs, a cut in the use of laxatives and in urinary infections, better quality of sleep, and lower rates of agitation among residents with dementia. | They report significant improvements in health as a result - many fewer falls, fewer GP call-outs, a cut in the use of laxatives and in urinary infections, better quality of sleep, and lower rates of agitation among residents with dementia. |
| Dehydration | Dehydration |
| Doctors have long highlighted the risks of dehydration for elderly people. It can cause dizziness and potentially serious falls, constipation, and confusion. | Doctors have long highlighted the risks of dehydration for elderly people. It can cause dizziness and potentially serious falls, constipation, and confusion. |
| The whole home buzzes now; there isn't that period after lunch when everyone goes off to sleep Wendy Tomlinson | The whole home buzzes now; there isn't that period after lunch when everyone goes off to sleep Wendy Tomlinson |
| While most people's systems can adjust to insufficient water, frail old people are far less equipped to cope. | While most people's systems can adjust to insufficient water, frail old people are far less equipped to cope. |
| So when Wendy Tomlinson, a former nurse, took over the management of the charity-run home, she suspected that drinking more water might help the residents feel better. | So when Wendy Tomlinson, a former nurse, took over the management of the charity-run home, she suspected that drinking more water might help the residents feel better. |
| Even she has been surprised by how much difference it's made, though. | Even she has been surprised by how much difference it's made, though. |
| "It's been fantastic," she said. "The whole home buzzes now; there isn't that period after lunch when everyone goes off to sleep." | "It's been fantastic," she said. "The whole home buzzes now; there isn't that period after lunch when everyone goes off to sleep." |
| For Baroness Greengross, a cross-bench peer, it reinforces a conviction she has had for some time now - that many old people simply are not drinking enough, and it is harming their health. | For Baroness Greengross, a cross-bench peer, it reinforces a conviction she has had for some time now - that many old people simply are not drinking enough, and it is harming their health. |
| She wants to see tougher regulations in care homes across the UK, so that staff have to make sure residents drink enough. | She wants to see tougher regulations in care homes across the UK, so that staff have to make sure residents drink enough. |
| "We hear a great deal about malnutrition among old people," she says. | "We hear a great deal about malnutrition among old people," she says. |
| "But we forget about the need for them to have enough water. It shouldn't be very difficult to change the habits of care staff." | "But we forget about the need for them to have enough water. It shouldn't be very difficult to change the habits of care staff." |