THE CLOSE CARE HOME

We first noticed ORNAMIN at the Care Show at the NEC Birmingham back in 2022. The bowls and plates seemed on first sight as attractive clean lines with nice bold colours but on looking at the plates in more detail we realized the ‘stay-warm’ aspect of the plates. This fitted in perfectly with many areas of The Close Care Home thinking. We have individuals that require a texture modified meal that often eat at a much slower rate than others and keeping food hot for longer periods has always been an issue; with meals often being reheated in microwave or being replaced altogether halfway through being eaten. The innovation of the Keep Warm plates meant that this no longer needed to be the case and with the addition of the plate’s raised rim and sloped inner base it has also removed the need for traditional plate guards, helping assisted individuals to eat independently again and therefore preserving the dignity of our diners.

We took away a very kindly gifted sample of the plate and bowl back to the home and showed them to some of our guests so that we could see how the individuals felt about the look, feel and advantages of them. We then used them for serving our texture modified foods that we produce in house from our IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) kitchen and the impact was instant and very obvious. Residents’ dignity had been enhanced, the food stayed hotter for longer, the visual impact was fantastic with the bright vibrant colours of the plates themselves giving a great contrast to the meals.
The staff commented that the residents were eating so much better and with less interaction from the care team, allowing them to assist other higher dependency guests at the same time rather than staggering the mealtimes which enabled the inclusion of all residents in the dining experience. They also found the plates and bowls easy to clean and maintain which also gives time back to the care team to further focus on the residents.