Two years on from the launch of Age Concern’s “Hungry to be Heard” campaign, many hospitals are still not doing enough to stop older people from going hungry on hospital wards, according to new findings revealed by the charity. The campaign follows research which showed that six out of ten older people are at risk of becoming malnourished, or their situation getting worse, in hospital.
Help the Aged called for older peoples’ mealtimes to be “protected” from non-urgent activity like ward rounds and routine tests, so patients are free to eat without interruptions, and pointed out that nurses are reporting more incidents of patient safety relating to poor nutritional care. In one such case, a patient who could only manage liquid food due to a risk of choking was given solid food during mealtimes.
Patrick South, head of public affairs for Age Concern, said: “Tackling malnutrition should be a top priority for all NHS Trusts, yet our evidence shows unacceptable inconsistencies across the country. For older people, missed meals in hospital can be as big a risk to safety as missing medication. The NHS Constitution and the new Care Quality Commission must ensure that nutrition is prioritised alongside other issues affecting the safety and treatment of patients.” With the aim of improving nutritional care, particularly in the area of screening of patients on admission, the National Patient Safety Agency has also published a number of fact sheets (www.npsa.nhs.uk).
Nutritional screening is historically poorly complied with, among healthcare professionals. In 2006, NICE estimated that only 30% of patients were screened for malnutrition on admission to hospital, while, in 2007, the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition found that 28% of 11,600 patients studied were at risk of malnutrition.
