Nutrition and hydration essentials

Last quality assured: 02/09/2026

4-minute read

Resource

Exclusive quality-assured learning resource

Available to RCN members

Health and social care workers with an RCN membership

This resource shows how nursing staff help identify and manage malnutrition and dehydration. It covers the signs, consequences and risks of dehydration, plus practical ways to support people to drink enough.

Who is this resource for?

All nurse roles

Resource contents

Below is an interactive list of resource contents, clicking will navigate you to that resource page.

The RCN delivers quality-assured and up-to-date resources for the nursing workforce. Reviewed annually, RCN Learn resources meet the RCN Nine Quality Standards.

Resource last reviewed 02/09/2026

Resource lead

Contact details for the resource lead:

Sally

Wilson

Professional Lead - Care of Older People and Dementia

Contact Sally

Related courses and resources

;

Skin Health Toolkit

;

How to undertake a nutritional assessment in adults

;

Personalised care for people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes

;

Assessment, treatment and prevention of vitamin D deficiency

Downloaded content date

PDF created on: 12 Sept 2026.

Downloaded from: https://rcnlearn.rcn.org.uk/Search/Nutrition-and-hydration-essentials.

Please check: https://rcnlearn.rcn.org.uk for a more up-to-date version of this content.

Last reviewed: 02/09/2026

Last quality assured: 02/09/2026

4-minute read