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22/02/2006
Malnutrition tests recommended for hospital patients
Hospital patients should be screened for malnutrition and offered specialist nutritional support if necessary, the healthcare watchdog has said.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issued the new guidelines in order to help the NHS tackle the problem.
Currently, around 40% of hospital patients are found to be malnourished on admission. The problem is even more serious for older people, with as many as 60% of pensioners who are admitted to hospital suffering from the problem.
The Nice guidelines say that all hospital patients and care home residents should be weighed and measured on admissions, while outpatients should be screened at their first appointment.
Checks would then be repeated weekly for inpatients and where there was cause for concern in outpatients.
The guidelines say that nutritional support should be provided for anyone who is found to be malnourished. Support should also be provided for people at risk of malnutrition, such as those who have eaten little or nothing for at least five days and those who cannot absorb nutrients properly, such as people suffering from gastric or bowel disorders.
All acute hospitals should also employ at least one specialist nutrition support nurse, Nice said.
Malnutrition is estimated to cost the NHS around £7.3billion each year - more than double the cost for treating obesity-related problems.
Nice said that the guidance could save the NHS around £45 million per year, because malnourished people tended to stay in hospital longer, had higher mortality rates and were three times more likely to develop complications during surgery.
Dr Mike Stroud, from the Institute of Human Nutrition at the University of Southampton, who worked on developing the guidance, said: "Ensuring patients receive adequate nutrition is an essential part of basic patient care, yet we know malnutrition is still a big problem for the NHS.
"The guideline contains one obvious and simple message - do not let your patients starve and when you offer them nutritional support, do so by the safest, simplest, most effective route."
Malnourished people are defined by having a body mass index of less than 18.5. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.
(KMcA/GB)
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issued the new guidelines in order to help the NHS tackle the problem.
Currently, around 40% of hospital patients are found to be malnourished on admission. The problem is even more serious for older people, with as many as 60% of pensioners who are admitted to hospital suffering from the problem.
The Nice guidelines say that all hospital patients and care home residents should be weighed and measured on admissions, while outpatients should be screened at their first appointment.
Checks would then be repeated weekly for inpatients and where there was cause for concern in outpatients.
The guidelines say that nutritional support should be provided for anyone who is found to be malnourished. Support should also be provided for people at risk of malnutrition, such as those who have eaten little or nothing for at least five days and those who cannot absorb nutrients properly, such as people suffering from gastric or bowel disorders.
All acute hospitals should also employ at least one specialist nutrition support nurse, Nice said.
Malnutrition is estimated to cost the NHS around £7.3billion each year - more than double the cost for treating obesity-related problems.
Nice said that the guidance could save the NHS around £45 million per year, because malnourished people tended to stay in hospital longer, had higher mortality rates and were three times more likely to develop complications during surgery.
Dr Mike Stroud, from the Institute of Human Nutrition at the University of Southampton, who worked on developing the guidance, said: "Ensuring patients receive adequate nutrition is an essential part of basic patient care, yet we know malnutrition is still a big problem for the NHS.
"The guideline contains one obvious and simple message - do not let your patients starve and when you offer them nutritional support, do so by the safest, simplest, most effective route."
Malnourished people are defined by having a body mass index of less than 18.5. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.
(KMcA/GB)
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