National Association of Care Catering launches CQC standards guide

The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) has launched a new guide to educate members about the Care Quality Commission (CQC)'s fundamental standards.

The guide focuses on good nutrition and hydration as a central part of quality care, providing advice and information to regulated residential and social care providers.

Concentrating on the key question: ‘How are people supported to drink and eat enough and maintain a balanced diet?', the guide provides evidence in the form of records, observations and statements that an inspector would be looking for during an inspection.

The guide will support providers and caterers in understanding and driving forward improvements in nutritional care to help them achieve good or outstanding CQC ratings for their service and service users.

Neel Radia, the NACC's national chair, said: "The importance of food and drink in delivering excellent care cannot be overestimated. An enjoyable meal, with the right nutritional balance, makes a huge difference to a person's wellbeing and quality of life. We have produced this document for everyone who wants to ensure that mealtimes are a vital part of their care service.

"From nutritional benefits through to the cultural and communal significance of food and drink, we are giving care providers and caterers the tools to ensure catering is at the centre of care, in line with the fundamental standards laid out by the CQC. Every service user has a right to receive good food and drink that reflects their individual nutritional, cultural, physical and emotional needs. As the association representing care caterers in the UK, it is our duty to support the sector with the resources, such as this document, to do this."

The new guide is available in hard copy or CD-Rom format here.

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