NEWS
Chocolates last less than an hour on wards, so try another option By Kat Keogh
@katkeogh
Christmas is a time when people gather together to eat, drink and be merry. But the hard work doesn’t stop for thousands of nurses over the festive period, and grateful patients and their families continue to bring boxes of chocolates, biscuits and other sweet treats as tokens of their appreciation. While the gesture is generous, these calorie-laden gifts can play havoc with a healthy diet, especially at this time of year. A 2013 study found chocolates last just 51 minutes around healthcare workers on hospital wards – and nurses and healthcare assistants are most likely to give in to temptation. The study monitored chocolate consumption among staff on four wards at Bedford Hospital in Bedford, the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and the University of North Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent. Nutritionist Jenny Barber, from weight-loss club Slimming World, said while patients often want to show their gratitude with a gift, staff can drop gentle hints that chocolate is not
Top tips for a healthy Christmas at work Super snacks – bring in small snacks that are quick to eat while at work, such as grapes, nuts or crackers. Leftovers – use them to create tasty, protein-rich meals for work, for example, a wholemeal roll packed with ham, turkey and salad leaves. Think energy – porridge is a good standby while on night shift. Visualise – think about how you want to look and feel. Will delving into the chocolate tin help you reach your goals? always the preferred option, without causing offence. ‘Wards could have a sign saying “this ward happily accepts fruit”, or even “please don’t feed the nurses chocolate” if staff have a sense of humour,’ Ms Barber said. ‘If there is a gift shop at your workplace, you could also campaign
for it to offer fruit baskets as well as chocolates, as these places are easily accessible to patients or their families to pick up a present. ‘No-one is saying that you shouldn’t treat yourself to a chocolate, but it is very easy for that one chocolate to turn into more if you keep passing a tin at the nurses’ station and you want a quick energy boost.’
Welcome gifts
As part of Nursing Standard’s Eat Well, Nurse Well campaign, Ms Barber has offered some top tips for a healthy Christmas in the workplace (see box). We also asked our readers via Facebook if chocolates were a welcome gift over Christmas. One said: ‘Chocolates are a nice bonus. Forget the diet, we burn off the calories anyway while on shift.’ Another said she resorted to desperate measures to make sure the treats last as long as possible. ‘It’s got to the point where we have to lock the chocolate way, otherwise when you come back the next day it has been eaten,’ she said.
ANDY TUCKNUTT
Organ donor campaign lists Christmas wishes
Barnet Hospital specialist nurse Katie Quist (left), who will be working on Christmas Day, with kidney transplant recipient Delroy Cottrell and Hannah Cochrane, who is awaiting a heart transplant
Specialist organ donation nurses will spend Christmas helping families make tough decisions, and they are urging people to join the organ donor register. NHS Blood and Transplant’s Christmas List campaign highlights the 6,891 people in the UK who are waiting for a transplant. Top of the wish list for organ donation nurse Katie Quist is for relatives and friends to know each other’s donation wishes. To join the organ donor register go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or text SAVE to 62323.
12 december 17from :: volRCNi.com 29 no 16-18 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 30, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Chocolates last less than an hour on wards, so try another option By Kat Keogh
@katkeogh
Christmas is a time when people gather together to eat, drink and be merry. But the hard work doesn’t stop for thousands of nurses over the festive period, and grateful patients and their families continue to bring boxes of chocolates, biscuits and other sweet treats as tokens of their appreciation. While the gesture is generous, these calorie-laden gifts can play havoc with a healthy diet, especially at this time of year. A 2013 study found chocolates last just 51 minutes around healthcare workers on hospital wards – and nurses and healthcare assistants are most likely to give in to temptation. The study monitored chocolate consumption among staff on four wards at Bedford Hospital in Bedford, the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and the University of North Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent. Nutritionist Jenny Barber, from weight-loss club Slimming World, said while patients often want to show their gratitude with a gift, staff can drop gentle hints that chocolate is not
Top tips for a healthy Christmas at work Super snacks – bring in small snacks that are quick to eat while at work, such as grapes, nuts or crackers. Leftovers – use them to create tasty, protein-rich meals for work, for example, a wholemeal roll packed with ham, turkey and salad leaves. Think energy – porridge is a good standby while on night shift. Visualise – think about how you want to look and feel. Will delving into the chocolate tin help you reach your goals? always the preferred option, without causing offence. ‘Wards could have a sign saying “this ward happily accepts fruit”, or even “please don’t feed the nurses chocolate” if staff have a sense of humour,’ Ms Barber said. ‘If there is a gift shop at your workplace, you could also campaign
for it to offer fruit baskets as well as chocolates, as these places are easily accessible to patients or their families to pick up a present. ‘No-one is saying that you shouldn’t treat yourself to a chocolate, but it is very easy for that one chocolate to turn into more if you keep passing a tin at the nurses’ station and you want a quick energy boost.’
Welcome gifts
As part of Nursing Standard’s Eat Well, Nurse Well campaign, Ms Barber has offered some top tips for a healthy Christmas in the workplace (see box). We also asked our readers via Facebook if chocolates were a welcome gift over Christmas. One said: ‘Chocolates are a nice bonus. Forget the diet, we burn off the calories anyway while on shift.’ Another said she resorted to desperate measures to make sure the treats last as long as possible. ‘It’s got to the point where we have to lock the chocolate way, otherwise when you come back the next day it has been eaten,’ she said.
ANDY TUCKNUTT
Organ donor campaign lists Christmas wishes
Barnet Hospital specialist nurse Katie Quist (left), who will be working on Christmas Day, with kidney transplant recipient Delroy Cottrell and Hannah Cochrane, who is awaiting a heart transplant
Specialist organ donation nurses will spend Christmas helping families make tough decisions, and they are urging people to join the organ donor register. NHS Blood and Transplant’s Christmas List campaign highlights the 6,891 people in the UK who are waiting for a transplant. Top of the wish list for organ donation nurse Katie Quist is for relatives and friends to know each other’s donation wishes. To join the organ donor register go to www.organdonation.nhs.uk, call 0300 123 23 23 or text SAVE to 62323.
12 december 17from :: volRCNi.com 29 no 16-18 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 30, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
