HC Deb 06 July 1999 vol 334 cc497-8W
Helen Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital trusts in England and Wales have in place a system of nutritional screening for newly admitted patients; and what advice his Department has given on the introduction of such systems. [88867]

Mr. Hutton

There are no data available on the number of hospital trusts which have in place a system of nutritional screening for newly admitted patients as this information is not collected centrally. The Department commissioned a resource pack from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne which was published in 1997 and a copy was issued to all trusts. It is intended to help trusts to develop and implement a system for nutritional screening.

Ms Drown

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that good-quality food is provided for people in NHS care. [88247]

Mr. Denham

Guidance on delivering a good quality catering service and improving nutrition standards has been issued to the National Health Service in recent years. All NHS trusts have been asked to adopt a recommended framework for auditing and monitoring performance to ensure consistent standards.