RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Supporting people who have eating and drinking difficulties
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP e344
OP e350
DO 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0161
VO 21
IS 4
A1 Karen Porter
A1 Nicola Burch
A1 Claire Campbell
A1 Chris Danbury
A1 Charles Foster
A1 Simon Gabe
A1 Andrew Goddard
A1 Katie Harp
A1 Anne Holdoway
A1 Tom Hughes
A1 Karen Le Ball
A1 Jeremy Nightingale
A1 Andrew Rochford
A1 Alex Ruck Keene
A1 Alison Smith
A1 Trevor Smith
A1 Aminda De Silva
YR 2021
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/21/4/e344.abstract
AB Eating and drinking are essential for maintenance of nutrition and hydration, but are also important for pleasure and social interactions. The ability to eat and drink hinges on a complex and coordinated system, resulting in significant potential for things to go wrong.The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has published updated guidance on how to support people who have eating and drinking difficulties, particularly towards the end of life.Decisions about nutrition and hydration and when to start, continue or stop treatment are some of the most challenging to make in medical practice. The newly updated guidance aims to support healthcare professionals to work together with patients, their families and carers to make decisions around nutrition and hydration that are in the best interests of the patient. It covers the factors affecting our ability to eat and drink, strategies to support oral nutrition and hydration, techniques of clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration, and the legal and ethical framework to guide decisions about giving and withholding treatment, emphasising the two key concepts of capacity and best interests.This article aims to provide an executive summary of the guidance.