§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the(a) causes of malnourishment in England and (b) extent to which the incidence of malnutrition in England has altered since 1990. [141035]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonMalnourishment is caused by an imbalance of nutrients, particularly energy intake, which impacts on body weight. Eating a balanced diet and keeping physically active helps people to maintain a healthy body weight.
The table shows the count of finished in year admissions episodes for national health service hospitals in England from 1995–96 to 2001–02, where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition. Comparable data are not available prior to 1995–96.
314W
Number 1995–96 244 1996–97 234 1997–98 249 1998–99 271 1999–2000 234 2000–01 209 2001–02 299 Source:
Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
In the NHS Plan (2000), the Government made a commitment to reduce under-nutrition by developing a hospital nutrition policy to improve the outcome of care of patients by 2004. A number of measures and strategies are in place to manage, monitor and screen patients for under nutrition in hospitals, residential care and the wider community. Nutritional screening is recommended for the care of specific groups, such as those outlined in the national service framework for older people (2001).