Six out of ten older people are at risk of becoming malnourished, or their situation getting worse, in hospital if they do not get the right nutrition and support. This includes having appropriate and appetising meals, and the help and encouragement they need from ward staff to eat and drink. Two main problems are the inappropriateness of the food served, and the lack of assistance with eating. Working with the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, we have managed to secure protected mealtimes for patients, which means that there are no interruptions – doctor’s visits, drugs rounds and so on – during mealtimes. A Red Tray system has also been introduced in some wards whereby those people needing assistance at mealtimes can be easily identified by the colour of their tray, and so ward staff know who needs help.
If you have a relative or friend, try to be there are meal times so you can spot any difficulties, or help them where necessary. You can also identify any difficulties which are being experienced and bring these to the attention of staff.
A spin-off from the Hungry to be Heard campaign in Gloucestershire is the introduction of our Meal Mates service. Learn more about this by clicking the “What we do” on the left-hand menu.
