27-04-2025
Radnor Hills: Welsh drinks firm helps care home residents
A Welsh soft drinks company is helping care home residents and staff stay hydrated.
Radnor Hills has teamed up with Oakland Care, a care home group with homes located in Essex, Kent, East Sussex, and Oxfordshire.
Oakland Care has started stocking a variety of Radnor Hills' beverages in all 10 of its homes.
To ensure that both staff and residents are drinking enough fluids throughout the day, the care homes have been hosting healthy hydration days.
During these days, Tetra packs of Radnor's juice range, which are made with real fruit juice and have no added sugar, are distributed.
The care homes have also received samples of Heartsease Farm Sparkling Premium Presses, which are made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and contain no artificial sweeteners.
Lambwood Heights Care Home in Chigwell, Essex, is one of the homes in the group that has been offering these beverages to its residents.
The drinks have also been used as a base for fresh fruit smoothies.
Lucy Malchar, lifestyles manager at Lambwood Heights, said: "We are always looking for fun and different ways to make hydration and nutrition more interesting.
"Our goal is to encourage individuals to increase their fluid intake in a way that feels natural and enjoyable, rather than forced.
"Using Radnor's drinks in smoothies is a great way to help people be more hydrated.
"Additionally, blending various drinks and fresh fruit ingredients allows us to introduce essential nutrients that people may not normally be plateable to without being detected.
"For example, I wouldn't usually be accustomed to eating spinach, but within a smoothie, the taste is unnoticeable.
"Our residents really enjoyed the smoothie-making class and trying new flavour combinations.
"It's a win-win for both health and enjoyment."
Annika James, Oakland Care's development chef, added: "Hydration is a key factor in lowering ailments and issues in the body.
"Dehydrated people can suffer from constipation, falls, UTIs, low blood pressure, confusion and even pressure sores.
"This is why we promote healthy fluid intake for all our residents and staff.
"We use a variety of techniques to keep residents hydrated including plenty of fluids and water-dense foods such as ice creams, jellies, soups and fruits."
Chris Butler, marketing manager for Radnor Hills, said: "Dehydration can be hard to detect in older people so making sure they have enough to drink is crucially important.
