The Healthcare Commission warned that hospitals may face surprise spot checks by inspectors where there are suspicions they are failing to provide adequate care for elderly patients. The Commission visited 23 National Health Service hospitals and found only five that met all its dignity in care standards.
An inpatient survey used in the report also showed that of the older people that needed help to eat, less than a fifth (just over 16%) said they received it. Complaints data reviewed by the Commission showed 25% concerns related to poor nutrition in hospitals.
The seriousness of nutrition issues was highlighted by NPSA data that showed there were approximately 1,200 reported patient safety incidents over the last eighteen months regarding nutritional and fluid management per year. Twenty five percent of those either caused harm or had the potential to cause harm to patients. This included patients being given food they were allergic to, choking on food and diabetic food being unavailable out of hours.
