People aged over 75 should drink six to eight glasses of fluids a day, says Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (Surrey Downs CCG).

Drinking plenty of fluids can help ward off serious conditions that can be fatal in the frail or those with long term conditions.

Older people who don’t drink enough water carry an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, heatstroke and heat exhaustion, and urine infections.

Jennifer Halliday, urgent care and integration project support manager at Surrey Downs CCG said: “Keeping cool in hot weather is vital for the health of older people and those living in care homes.

“Heatwaves can prove fatal in some cases, but with proper hydration and nutrition many ill effects can be avoided. Six to eight glasses of fluids a day is the ideal but this can be hard to achieve.

“In care homes we created ‘hydration stations’ so residents were better able to serve themselves water, squash and other drinks at any point throughout the day, without having to wait for food service or ask a member of staff.

“Warm weather can also reduce people’s appetite so we shared recipes for light and tasty finger food, jelly shots, fortified milkshakes and healthy fruit smoothies and encouraged residents to get involved in making these, as part of fun cookery activities.

“High fluid foods also count towards intake – think about watermelon, oranges and tomatoes.”