NUTRITION & HYDRATION SCREENING IN PRIMARY PRACTICE

Naomi trained at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Her specific interest in hydration stems from caring for her mother at home, and memories of student nurse days being told to “push fluids.” 

Naomi is recognised as the UK's first Hydration Care Nurse Specialist and is the creator of the award-winning ROC Hydration Care Assessment Tool, which is recognised to fulfil an unmet need in elderly care assessment. ROC “Reliance on a Carer” provides a much-needed simple method to identify who relies on a carer to drink and eat; highlighting associated risk of low-intake dehydration and poor food intake.

Naomi has been chair of the National Hydration Network (NHN) since 2016, and organised a national conference in 2018 and 2019 hosted by Age UK and Malnutrition Task Force. In 2018 she founded her own hydration care company, now trading as ROC Care Systems, with a global mission to prevent ‘avoidable’ dehydration in elderly and vulnerable care. In 2020 she secured investment to develop a digital version of ROC and an online hydration care training programme. Naomi firmly believes her ROC tool will transform how care provider organisations and regulators assess and review fundamental hydration and nutrition care, to ensure sustainable high-quality care for future generations.

In 2014 the Health Service Journal included Naomi in their HSJ top list of ‘healthcare’s most inspirational female leaders’. In 2016 she won the prestigious British Journal of Nursing award for innovation. She has also been granted a UK patent for a drinking aid that enables the most frail or sick to effortlessly sip fluids. Naomi has written several nursing articles and is frequently asked to give presentations, most recently by the Royal College of Nursing.

Dr Anuj Patel is a GP Principal at Wentworth Medical Practice which is based over two sites (Finchley and Hendon). He has been a principal at this practice since 1998 having completed his training in 1997. Dr Patel is currently the Chair of Barnet Federated GPs and has held this position since April 2017. Prior to this he was Medical Director for the local out of hours cooperative Barndoc from 1999 to 2013. He is also a GP appraiser and a GP tutor; he is passionate about the sustainability of quality, locally provided care, and the continuation of a compassionate, knowledgeable workforce for Barnet patients.