The Water for Health Alliance
The Water for Health Alliance
National Heart Forum joins Alliance
We are delighted to announce that the National Heart Forum (NHF) has joined the Alliance to help promote drinking water in public health. NHF is comprised of over 50 national organisations working together to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and related conditions in the UK. As an organisation,they lobby government, policy makers and industry to improve awareness and prevention strategies for coronary heart disease and related conditions such as raised blood pressure, stroke and diabetes. Their remit covers nutrition and diet, food marketing, smoking and physical activity with the focus on prevention of avoidable disease. They advise that “Drinking good quantities of fresh water is an important component of maintaining a healthy diet, a fit heart and a healthy cardiovascular system.”
The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust joins Alliance
Further excellent news was the announcement that The Obesity Awareness &Solutions Trust (TOAST) has joined the Alliance, and we welcome the focus that their experienced team bring to this important area. TOAST is a national advocacy charity whose primary aim is to ensure that people whose lives are affected by obesity have an impact on policies and treatment. They have developed a range of supportive services including a help and information line,forum facilities, support groups and accredited training programmes. The team advise that they “recognise the importance of water for health and see it as being as vital for individuals as breathing”. www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/water-for-health-alliance/toast
National Care Association joins Alliance
A warm welcome also goes to the National Care Association (NCA) who have joined the Alliance to bring added weight to the call for hydration best practice and to promote healthy ageing. NCA was formed to lobby the government for the benefit of both its members and the people in their care. They represent the interests of more than 2,000 independent social care providers across the country, caring for all categories of care, and aim to promote the highest standards. NCA believe that “fresh drinking water is at the heart of a wholesome diet, and it is very important for maintaining good health. NCA are actively encouraging our service providers and the residents to adopt hydration best practice”.
Last chance to join the National Water for Health Alliance Meeting
Monday, 23 January 2006, the Water for Health Alliance meeting took place at Water UK's offices in London between 10:30 am and 4 pm. Speakers covered topics from water in schools to prisons, care homes to hospitals and include presentations from the Health Education Trust, The Hospital Caterers Association, National Association of Care Catering, Northumbrian Water and Scottish Water. These meetings are focused on making change happen, and provide the opportunity for Alliance members to build contacts and business relationships, share approaches, innovation and best practice.
Water in healthy schools
Water UK spoke at the launch of Islington Primary Care Trusts Healthy Schools. The conference style event featured speeches from the Department of Health and specialist dieticians, with the focus on the day being the implementation of the DfES/DH Food in schools toolkit. An excellent and well organised day clearly showed the schools need for more local promotional support information on the health benefits of waters, and a focus on improving the standards of existing school water facilities. As part of the overall school strategy the Secretary of State for Education now expects that free, fresh drinking water must be available to children throughout the school day and towards the middle of 2006, water will begin to replace vending machine soft drinks throughout lunchtime hours.
Transforming school meals consultation response
Water UK's letter response to the debate on providing fresh water within school mealtimes can be seen at www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/news-viewpoint/turning-the-tables
Green paper on obesity
The EC green paper on the promotion of healthy diets was published on 8 December 2005. It outlines ways to promote healthy diets and physical activity in an attempt to tackle rising rates of childhood obesity and obesity-related disease. Green papers are intended to open discussion on specific EU policy areas. Contributions are invited on a range of specific questions. The paper refers to the need for clear consistent nutrition information about foods and that this, along with relevant consumer education, can act as the foundation of informed dietary choice. A public consultation on the paper runs until 15 March 2006, http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_determinants/life_style/nutrition/documents/nutrition_gp_en.pdf
NHS Scotland, water in hospitals
Under its NHS Quality Improvement initiative, Scotland has released some of the first statements on water provision for hospitals. Outside of voluntary catering and nursing intervention, there is no corporate guidance for fresh water provision in hospital settings, and water is totally missing from dietary and patient care strategy. NHS Scotland's document called “Understanding the standards for food, fluid and nutritional care in hospitals” recommends that “patients have plenty of time to eat or drink” and more specifically that “There should be fresh drinking water at all times,unless there is a medical reason for a patient not to drink.” Originally released in 2003, the advice goes on to point out that if patients need help this should be available while the food and drink are at the correct temperature.
Water in hospitals
The importance of drinking water within hospital nutrition has been covered by Water UK, in an article looking at the key issues facing patient hydration. Written for the Westminster Diet and Health Forum publication, (produced immediately following the Food in Hospitals Seminar on 8 December 2005), the piece advises that “It is now well recognised that poor nutrition affects health and well being, prolongs hospital stay and increases the risks of infection and complications. In a wholesome patient diet, water must be considered as one of the six basic nutrients - along with carbohydrates, fat,vitamins, proteins and minerals. In its Water, Sanitation and Health guidance,the World Health Organization advises that ‘Water is a basic nutrient of the human body and is critical to human life.” Alliance members, the Hospital Caterers Association, raised the subject of hydration at the main conference itself, and will be working within the Alliance to help introduce hydration best practice guidance across the NHS. www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/news-viewpoint/food-in-hospitals
Healthy Ageing initiative, Thirst4Life
Deborah Lawson, a Sister at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, A&E Department,audited A&E attendances at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and found that over 30 per cent of elderly people attending A&E are there because of a dehydration related illness. This quite shocking figure represented the situation in Buckinghamshire at the end of 2004. The County's NHS services and Buckinghamshire County Council felt strongly that with a mixture of education and awareness training and the setting up of the “Thirst 4 Life”campaign we could tackle this problem. Training is being given to professionals caring for older people by tissue viability nurses, district nurses and allied health professionals, who are making the links between hydration and tissue quality clear. Additionally A&E nurses are teaching techniques to recognise the early stages of dehydration in older people as well as ways to stop it happening. The project has the support of celebrity chef Sophie Grigson. Amazingly, this training has already led to a 45 per cent reduction in A&E attendance. www.buckscc.gov.uk/thirst4life/project.htmwww.buckscc.gov.uk/thirst4life/index.htm
Care Home Water Awareness Week
Active Alliance supporters, Quantum Care, have advised that they will be running a Water Awareness Week for residents and staff, based around the recently launched “Hydration Best Practice Toolkit”. www.quantumcare.co.uk/
Nursing care in Alabama
Following a recent approach to Water UK, the “Hydration Best Practice Toolkit” is now being used as part of a research project (masters level) at Seton Hall University in Alabama. The project aims to improve general knowledge about dehydration within older people, and give nurses more evidence based information to prevent dehydration.
Water and oral health
Local water company, Portsmouth Water, presented the case for water and health at an important conference aimed at improving the nutritional and oral health of children in Hampshire & Isle of Wight. The event looked at a common risk factor approach to tackling obesity and dental decay and was entitled “Food for thought - child health in bite sized chunks”. www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/
Water works at Northumbrian water
Having great tasting and chilled water at work does not have to mean buying expensive bottled supplies. Mains-fed coolers can provide water at a fraction of the cost, advises Northumbrian Water in a new campaign to encourage workers to keep hydrated.
CIEH, water and nutrition
Alliance members, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)built water for health in to their conference, “Improving Diet and Nutrition conference”, at the Royal Overseas League in London. The CIEH conference examined diet and nutrition policy from national issues through to local interventions, and Water UK presented a paper on the health benefits of water, reinforcing to the audience that drinking water should now be recognised across health policy as an essential part of nutrition. Water UK advised that“It really is time to add water to public health policy and public health awareness campaigns. It must move up the health policy agenda... and it should always have been there.” www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/news-viewpoint/water-as-nutrient
Social science of water consumption
“Traces of Water” is a series of workshops that aims to develop the social science of domestic water consumption. Within the water sector understanding domestic water consumption has been dominated by questions about average per capita consumption, the implications of metering and how new technologies affect water consumption. Understanding patterns of water consumption, the future of demand and the effects of different forms of regulation require more complex investigation into the practices through which people consume water, the relationship between those practices, different technologies, and wider social and infrastructure change.
Through this series of workshops UKWIR will be reviewing relevant research,concepts and methods from the social sciences, examining the implications for the industry and future research. Each half-day workshop addresses a particular theme. For further information please contact Will Medd, w.medd@lancaster.ac.uk
The Institute for Public Health and Water Research
The Institute is working to develop collaborations with governmental and non-governmental organisations, committed to the improvement of public health worldwide through the support of research and education on water and health. The IPWR announced the FY 2006 inaugural grants competition soliciting investigator initiated research grants around the theme of the “Health Benefits and Outcomes of Drinking Water”. This research program is intended to target children and/or adult populations. The key areas of interest are: the benefits and risks of drinking water consumption, and the water and health relationship. The IPWR will fund up to four IPWR Fellow Awards at US $25,000 per award per year for up to two years. Up to three awards will be made for Research Grant: Investigator applications at US $100,000 per award per year for two years. For more information, visit www.ipwr.org/resource/tap.html
Nick Ellins, Policy and Planning Adviser
Water UK www.waterforhealth.org.uk
