PIP Activity 2: Eating and Drinking - Complete Scoring Guide

Activity 2 covers taking nutrition - cutting food, putting food and drink in your mouth, and chewing and swallowing. This is PIP2 Question 4. This activity scores highest for people with swallowing difficulties, tremor, feeding tubes, and conditions that make the physical act of eating difficult.

The Descriptors and Points

a. Can take nutrition unaided - 0 points.

b. Needs to use an aid or appliance to take nutrition, or needs food cut up - 2 points. Adapted cutlery, non-slip mats, plate guards, two-handled cups, straws. If someone cuts your food for you, this also scores 2.

c. Needs a therapeutic source of nutrition to remain nourished, or needs someone to monitor intake - 2 points. Special dietary supplements like Ensure or Fortisip, PEG feeding, or someone monitoring what and how much you eat (relevant for eating disorders or cognitive conditions).

d. Cannot convey food or drink to their mouth and needs another person to do so - 4 points. Someone physically feeds you or holds drinks for you.

e. Needs a therapeutic source to be administered and monitored - 6 points. PEG tube or NG tube feeding that requires another person to manage.

f. Cannot convey food or drink to their mouth and needs enteral tube feeding - 10 points.

Conditions That Score on This Activity

Stroke (weakness affecting arm/hand), Parkinson's (tremor preventing use of cutlery), MS (fatigue, weakness, swallowing problems), motor neurone disease, cerebral palsy, severe arthritis (cannot grip cutlery), eating disorders (need monitoring), dementia (forget to eat), dysphagia (swallowing difficulties), gastroparesis.

What People Miss

If you need your food cutting up because you cannot use a knife and fork safely, that is descriptor b (2 points). Many people don't mention this because they think it's "normal" for someone to help. It is not - it is an indicator of disability that scores PIP points.

If you take dietary supplements (Ensure, Fortisip, Complan) because you cannot eat enough regular food, that is descriptor c (2 points).