§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people were diagnosed as suffering from malnutrition in(a) Greater London, (b) each London borough and (c) England in each of the last five years; and what his Department's policy is for tackling malnutrition. [162387]
1059W
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 25 March 2004]: Malnutrition is caused by an imbalance of nutrients, particularly energy intake which impacts on body weight. Eating a balanced diet and keeping physically active help people to maintain a healthy body weight.
Finished admission episodes by health authority Health authority of residence 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Hillingdon 0 0 0 0 1 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 1 1 1 0 0 Enfield and Haringey 1 2 2 0 0 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 1 1 2 1 0 Bexley and Greenwich 1 0 0 0 0 Croydon 0 1 0 2 0 Kingston and Richmond 1 2 0 5 0 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 1 8 2 6 1 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 2 2 1 0 0 Barking and Havering 3 0 0 2 1 Barnet 0 0 2 0 0 Brent and Harrow 0 1 0 0 Camden and Islington 1 2 2 0 2 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 0 1 4 2 1 East London and The City 3 2 2 2 0 Note:
The table shows the count of finished admission episodes for NHS hospitals in England from 1998–99 to 2002–03 where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition and the age of admission was 65 plus.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
Finished admission episodes 1998–99 114 1999–2000 98 2000–01 109 2001–02 128 2002–03 112 Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics(HES),Department of HealthIn 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).