Nutrition Refocusing our efforts
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Consultant Editor Neil Wilson Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University
Editorial Board Vera Todorovic Consultant Dietitian in Clinical Nutrition Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Chair, Communications and Liaison Committee, BAPEN
Karen Harrison Dening Consultant Admiral Nurse, Barnet Enfield & Haringey MHT, NHS Trust & Dementia UK, Executive Committee, BAPEN
Rebecca White Medical Advisor
Rekha Elaswarapu Strategy Development Manager (Older People) CQC Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow, City University, London
Sue Hill NHS Institute of Innovation and Improvement (Community Services Programme)
Editor
Rowan Dennison
Publishing Director
Anthony Kerr
Managing Director
Jon Benson
Commercial Manager
Andrew Iafrati
In association with
© 2014
St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London, SE24 0PB (Tel: 020 7738 5454)
All rights reserved. No part of British Journal of Community Nursing may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopied or otherwise without prior written permission of Rebecca Linssen, Editorial Director. Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 2YA
Nutrition, July 2014
his year has seen community nutrition brought to the forefront of the agenda, not only in a professional sense but also a political one, with real momentum being gained through the publication of a number of important reports and strategies. For example, BAPEN (2014a) reported on their nutrition screening weeks that have occurred over the past 5 years. In this longitudinal review of data, one in four patients admitted to hospital were at risk of malnutrition. It is clear from the evidence that malnutrition largely originates in the community, which implies that much of our effort needs to be targeted at this sector. Simultaneously, BAPEN (2014b) published Malnutrition Matters: A Commitment to Act, which supports the notion of responsibilities from a national, regional and local level. The responsibilities are set out in key priorities and now support every level from local government, general practices and pharmacies to individuals and their carers. The guidance provides practical, achievable solutions to recognising and treating malnutrition and signposts stakeholders towards further support, such as the Malnutrition Pathway (Brotherton et al, 2012). The pathway, which was specifically designed for community use, provides these services with a plethora of resources, including information relating to malnutrition, screening, dietary advice and oral nutritional supplementation. The pathway has just launched care plans for residential and nursing home settings for low, medium and high-risk patients. These care plans have been produced in conjunction with the National Nurses Nutrition Group, and it is hoped that these could be adapted for community health-care use, including ‘reaching in’ to general practice. The Government’s response—primarily arising as a result of the nutritional issues raised in the Francis report—has been to support the Department of Health to fund a malnutrition prevention project to include five pilot areas within the country. This project, led by the Malnutrition Task Force, is engaging with general practice and community services (among others) to improve diagnosis and treatment of both malnutrition and dehydration. It is clear that community malnutrition is on both the professional and political agenda. These initiatives will attempt to address a long-standing problem that has traditionally been attributed mainly to hospitals and that is now gaining momentum and changing focus to a setting in which the problem is frequently unrecognised BJCN and untreated. BAPEN (2014a) Nutrition Screening Surveys in Hospitals in the UK, 2007–2011. http://tinyurl.com/qfjdjjd (accessed 9 June 2014) BAPEN (2014b) Malnutrition Matters: A Commitment to Act—A Three-Step Guide to Improving Nutritional care in England. http:// tinyurl.com/p2npalz (accessed 9 June 2014) Brotherton A, Holdoway A, Mason P, McGregor I, Parsons B, Pryke R (2012) Managing Adult Malnutrition in the Community. Malnutrition Pathway. http://tinyurl.com/p9floyj (accessed 9 June 2014)
Neil Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University S5
Journal of Community Nursing. Downloaded from magonlinelibrary.com by 130.194.020.173 on November 24, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights re
T
Consultant Editor Neil Wilson Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University
Editorial Board Vera Todorovic Consultant Dietitian in Clinical Nutrition Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Chair, Communications and Liaison Committee, BAPEN
Karen Harrison Dening Consultant Admiral Nurse, Barnet Enfield & Haringey MHT, NHS Trust & Dementia UK, Executive Committee, BAPEN
Rebecca White Medical Advisor
Rekha Elaswarapu Strategy Development Manager (Older People) CQC Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow, City University, London
Sue Hill NHS Institute of Innovation and Improvement (Community Services Programme)
Editor
Rowan Dennison
Publishing Director
Anthony Kerr
Managing Director
Jon Benson
Commercial Manager
Andrew Iafrati
In association with
© 2014
St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London, SE24 0PB (Tel: 020 7738 5454)
All rights reserved. No part of British Journal of Community Nursing may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopied or otherwise without prior written permission of Rebecca Linssen, Editorial Director. Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 2YA
Nutrition, July 2014
his year has seen community nutrition brought to the forefront of the agenda, not only in a professional sense but also a political one, with real momentum being gained through the publication of a number of important reports and strategies. For example, BAPEN (2014a) reported on their nutrition screening weeks that have occurred over the past 5 years. In this longitudinal review of data, one in four patients admitted to hospital were at risk of malnutrition. It is clear from the evidence that malnutrition largely originates in the community, which implies that much of our effort needs to be targeted at this sector. Simultaneously, BAPEN (2014b) published Malnutrition Matters: A Commitment to Act, which supports the notion of responsibilities from a national, regional and local level. The responsibilities are set out in key priorities and now support every level from local government, general practices and pharmacies to individuals and their carers. The guidance provides practical, achievable solutions to recognising and treating malnutrition and signposts stakeholders towards further support, such as the Malnutrition Pathway (Brotherton et al, 2012). The pathway, which was specifically designed for community use, provides these services with a plethora of resources, including information relating to malnutrition, screening, dietary advice and oral nutritional supplementation. The pathway has just launched care plans for residential and nursing home settings for low, medium and high-risk patients. These care plans have been produced in conjunction with the National Nurses Nutrition Group, and it is hoped that these could be adapted for community health-care use, including ‘reaching in’ to general practice. The Government’s response—primarily arising as a result of the nutritional issues raised in the Francis report—has been to support the Department of Health to fund a malnutrition prevention project to include five pilot areas within the country. This project, led by the Malnutrition Task Force, is engaging with general practice and community services (among others) to improve diagnosis and treatment of both malnutrition and dehydration. It is clear that community malnutrition is on both the professional and political agenda. These initiatives will attempt to address a long-standing problem that has traditionally been attributed mainly to hospitals and that is now gaining momentum and changing focus to a setting in which the problem is frequently unrecognised BJCN and untreated. BAPEN (2014a) Nutrition Screening Surveys in Hospitals in the UK, 2007–2011. http://tinyurl.com/qfjdjjd (accessed 9 June 2014) BAPEN (2014b) Malnutrition Matters: A Commitment to Act—A Three-Step Guide to Improving Nutritional care in England. http:// tinyurl.com/p2npalz (accessed 9 June 2014) Brotherton A, Holdoway A, Mason P, McGregor I, Parsons B, Pryke R (2012) Managing Adult Malnutrition in the Community. Malnutrition Pathway. http://tinyurl.com/p9floyj (accessed 9 June 2014)
Neil Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University S5
Journal of Community Nursing. Downloaded from magonlinelibrary.com by 130.194.020.173 on November 24, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights re
