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Showing results for tags 'Nutrition'.
Found 41 results
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Content Article
Nasogastric tube safety: it’s personal
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Improving patient safety
Dr Frances Healey provides her personal perspective on the continuing persistence of harm caused by misplaced nasogastric tubes from her experience both as a nurse and head of patient safety insight at NHS Improvement. -
Content ArticleMisplacement of nasogastric tubes can have disastrous consequences for patients and is listed as a “never event” by NHS England. When Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had two of these never events, the nutrition nursing team carried out a system-wide evaluation to identify problems and develop plans to address them. An e-learning package, robust standardisation in staff’s approach to patient care, re-setting “red lines” to support and empower staff, and the introduction of monitoring and reporting systems have contributed to improving patient safety.
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Content ArticleContinuing Professor Martin Langham's 'Why investigate' blog series, colleague Bobbie Enright turns to the topic of fatigue, looking at the causes and preventions, how it can impact on our work and how we can manage it.
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News Article
CQC to inspect hospitals on food standards after patient deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hospital food standards are set to be put on a statutory footing, with trusts held to account by the Care Quality Commission, according to the chair of a government-commissioned review. Philip Shelley, who led the review into hospital food following seven patient deaths from listeria last year, told HSJ the incident was an “absolute condemnation” and that trusts must use the review to improve food standards. The review, published last month, also calls for capital investment to refurbish hospital kitchens and replace old and inefficient equipment, which is likely to cost several hundreds of millions of pounds. The government has accepted the recommendations and Mr Shelley will lead a group of experts to oversee the review’s implementation across the NHS during the next three years. Among the review’s recommendations is the “enhanced role” for the CQC when it inspects NHS trusts. The review states there is currently “very little evidence to prove that food and drink standards are being monitored closely enough” and it therefore recommends placing the standards on a statutory footing from which the CQC can hold trusts to account. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 November 2020 -
Content ArticleBlack, Latinx, and Native Americans are experiencing disproportionate burdens of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths from COVID-19. Similar disparities are observed in other countries where minority groups face hurdles in accessing health, education, and social services as well as affordable, healthy food. These stark manifestations of health inequities have emerged in the wake of a body of evidence linking obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease — conditions that disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations — with severe outcomes from COVID-19. Though the factors underlying racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 in the United States are multifaceted and complex, long-standing disparities in nutrition and obesity play a crucial role in the health inequities unfolding during the pandemic.
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Content ArticleThis case will be of interest to capacity assessors, practitioners, healthcare providers and commissioners because it provides further guidance on the Court of Protection’s approach to capacity and best interests in relation to clinically assisted nutrition and hydration for victims of abuse and trauma.
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Content ArticleInvestigation of a complaint against the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust A Trust’s failure to perform an examination of a patient on admission to hospital meant he was not assessed by medical staff against this baseline during his time on the ward.
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Content ArticleIf a nasogastric tube (NGT) has been misplaced into the respiratory tract and this is not detected before fluids, feed or medication are given, death or severe harm can be caused. The consequences are even more likely to be fatal for patients who are already critically ill. Most nasogastric ‘Never Events’ of feeding into the respiratory tract through a misplaced tube continue to arise from misinterpretation of x-rays by staff who had not been given training in the ‘four criteria’ technique and were unaware that relying on the position of the tube tip alone on a radiograph can be a fatal error. BAPEN has produced this easy reference guide.
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Content ArticleBAPEN would like to draw the attention of those dealing with enteral tube feeding during the COVID-19 crisis to a number of important issues.
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News ArticleIt has been revealed that three patients a day are dying from starvation or thirst or choking on NHS wards. In 2017, 936 hospital deaths were attributed to one of those factors, with starvation the primary cause of death in 74 cases.The Office for National Statistics data reveals malnutrition deaths are 34% higher than in 2013. Over-stretched nurses are simply too busy to check if the sick and elderly are getting nourishment. However, Myer Glickman from the ONS says the data is not conclusive proof of poor NHS care. He said:“There has been an increase over time in the number of patients admitted to hospital while already malnourished. This may suggest that malnutrition is increasingly prevalent in the community, possibly associated with the ageing of the population and an increase in long-term chronic diseases.” Yet campaigners say too many vulnerable people are being “forgotten to death” in NHS hospitals and urgent action is needed to identify and treat malnutrition. In a recent pilot scheme the number of deaths among elderly patients with a fractured hip was halved by simply having someone to feed them. Six NHS trusts employed a junior staff member for each ward tasked with getting 500 extra calories a day into them. More survived and the patients spent an average five days less in hospital, unblocking beds and saving more than £1,400 each. It wasn’t just the calories though – it helped keep their morale up. Because, as one consultant said: “Food is a very, very cheap drug that’s extremely powerful.” Read full story Source: Mirror, 4 February 2020
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Content Article
Why malnutrition matters in care homes? (October 2019)
Claire Cox posted an article in Community care
In this short video, Professor Martin Green explains why good nutrition in care homes is essential. He explains that screening patients before they come to the care home is a 'must do' rather than a 'nice to have'. This video was made for the National Nutrition awareness week in 2019. -
Content ArticleI-Hydrate was a collaborative research project, which used service improvement methodology, and was undertaken at two privately operated North West London care homes in partnership with care home staff, residents and their carers and families. I-Hydrate aimed to optimise the hydration of residents in nursing homes, improve the quality and safety of care and decrease dehydration and the morbidity associated with it.
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Content Article
Malnutrition Task Force case study: Lyn's story
Claire Cox posted an article in Community care
Follow Lyns story, an animation highlighting the challenge of malnutrition in later life. The Malnutrition Task Force (MTF) are united to combat preventable and avoidable malnutrition and dehydration among older people in the UK. Established in 2012, they believe that good nutrition and hydration is fundamental to delivering dignified care, and enabling older people to live fulfilling and independent lives. Tackling malnutrition is everybody’s business. The MTF works with partners across sectors and settings to raise awareness of undernutrition in later life and its causes, provide information and guidance, and spread best practice and innovation to improve the lives of older people in the UK. -
News ArticleHundreds of patients have been warned supply problems with the specially made IV feed they need to stay alive is likely to continue for months. NHS England, which declared a national emergency incident in the summer because of the delays in production of intravenous nutrition, has written to patients warning the problems are far from resolved. Dozens of patients have been admitted to hospital in the past six months because of the supply shortage, which was sparked in June when the main manufacturer, Calea, based in Runcorn, was hit by overnight restrictions by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Since the shortages started the NHS has been forced to fly in feed from other European countries, while some patients have had to switch from their bespoke feed to so-called off-the-shelf bags which don’t contain everything they need in the right quantities. Some hospitals have admitted patients to hospital to make sure they receive what they need because of fears for their health or lack of supplies in the community. Initially it had been hoped the delays in production would be improved by the end of the year, but in a letter sent to some patients, seen by The Independent, NHS bosses warn patients could be facing many more months of delays. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 January 2020
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Content ArticleThis report from the AHSN Network shines light on ways we can do more to improve safety for residents of care homes. The publication showcases over 30 examples of projects delivered by England’s 15 Patient Safety Collaboratives (PSCs) and the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) which host them. They include case studies in medicines safety, dementia, monitoring and screening, and workforce development.
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Content ArticleFrimley Health NHS Foundation Trust have devised a patient leaflet to help patients play a role in their safety while at the hospital.
