Date Published:
30 November 2006 |
Nutrition is an essential part of basic patient care, according to BMA Scotland
The BMA in Scotland has welcomed the publication
of an Audit Scotland report into catering for patients in hospital which found
that progress had been made on recommendations made in an initial review in
2003.
The report however identified a need for routine screening for under-nutrition
of patients on admission to hospital and for all NHS Boards to have systems
for ensuring the nutritional balance of patient meals.
The BMA’s lead on nutritional issues, Dr Sumantra Ray, said:
" Since 2003 it has been mandatory, under NHS quality standards, for
patients to be screened for risk of under-nutrition on admission to hospital,
but the
Audit Scotland report has clearly identified that there are still barriers
to the implementation of these standards in our hospitals.
_ Ensuring patients receive adequate nutrition
is an essential part of basic patient care as well as a basic human right
as highlighted by the Council
of Europe. Despite this, hospital malnutrition remains a major problem in the
NHS and this must be addressed as a matter of urgency. It is estimated that
UK-wide, malnutrition costs the NHS £7.3 billion a year.
_ It is ironic that, at a time when the importance
of eating well is high on the health agenda, that this is not mirrored in
our hospitals."
Dr Ray, who is both a fully trained Registered Nutritionist and Registered
Medical Doctor working as a Clinical Research and Teaching Fellow at the University
of Dundee, added:
" Based on extrapolated data, at least 40% of patients admitted to hospitals
in this country are undernourished, 10% higher than the EU average. Under-nutrition
can contribute to prolonged ill health, clinical complications, delayed recovery
and therefore longer hospital stays.
_ There is an urgent need for multi-professional
nutrition education to improve hospital food in general and to manage the
burden of hospital malnutrition.
The BMA is currently leading a tentative project (within the framework of the
Council of Europe Alliance (UK) on Hospital Food and Nutritional Care) to assess
the need for nutritional education in UK medical schools and to inform curriculum
planners of the need for nutrition related skills required by all doctors.
_ There is also a need to make special meals
more widely available by hospital caterers to take account of specific dietary
requirements, especially
for vegetarians or the 6-7% of British people who are registered gluten sensitive."
In its recently published election manifesto, Priorities for Health¸ the
BMA in Scotland called for mandatory standards for all meals provided by the
public sector, including hospital meals.
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