It’s difficult to imagine a situation where preparing a meal can be so difficult that you would choose not to eat at all.

However, for some people, this is a reality which can result in some of them becoming under nourished or even suffering malnutrition.

Aileen Boyd, lead dietitian for the primary care dietetic services, says this should be a concern to all health professionals and to help them address this, a pack has been devised which will help staff identify patients at risk of malnutrition to enable earlier intervention.

Titled Nutrition Matters in the Community, it contains a Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) which can be used with adults in any setting – hospital, care home, outpatients or in a patient’s own home.

Aileen said: “Malnutrition or under-nutrition is a major public health concern that is all our business.

“It’s costly for patients as their health will suffer meaning poor response to  treatment, tiredness, apathy, low mood, confusion, loss of enjoyment of food and drinks and overall poorer quality of life.

“It also has an economic cost as patients will have extended hospital stays and increased drug bills with lower than expected clinical outcomes.

“The MUST helps to identify individuals who may be at nutritional risk so we can give them some additional support with eating and drinking or some expert advice and referral to a dietitian.”

To help promote MUST, and raise awareness of the importance of early identification and intervention, the dietetic oral nutrition support team will be raising awareness of the pack to key staff.

Visits to GP practices are already underway and all healthcare staff are being asked to familiarise themselves with this resource and consider the impact of malnutrition in our communities and what they can do to address it.

Aileen continued: “Malnutrition in our community should be a concern to us and hopefully this pack will help staff to provide better care for their patients.”

For more on Nutrition Matters in the Community see FirstPort at: http://firstport2/staff-support/nutrition-and-dietetics/default.aspx

You can also contact Aileen Boyd on 01698 855612 or the Oral Nutrition Support Dietitians on 01698 201433/ 201434.

Facts and figures about malnutrition

• Around one million over 65s in the UK are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.
• Depression or anxiety, social exclusion, poor access to transport, mobility difficulties, poverty and dental problems can all contribute to malnutrition.
• The vast majority – 93% – are living in the community. 5% in care homes. 2% in hospitals.
• People who are malnourished see their GP twice as often, have 3 times the number of hospital admissions and stay in hospital more than 3 days longer.
• Early identification and treatment of malnutrition in adults could save the NHS £45.5 Million a year even after costs of training and screening.