The Decaf Project
Stow Healthcare, supported by Care England, have been working with their staff, their residents and their families to promote decaffeinated hot drinks in their care homes.
Caffeine has a diuretic effect, impacting the bladder and bowel and increasing the urgency of using the toilet. From June 2023, Stow Healthcare trialled offering decaf drinks as standard in their homes (whilst allowing choice for those who wanted to continue to drink caffeine). They wanted to see if there was a connection between caffeine and increased levels of falls in their residents.
89% of their residents chose to take up the offer of decaffeinated drinks in June, and this rose to 92% by the end of the trial. Over 6 months, they saw falls associated with going to the loo reduce by 35% across their care homes!