Food and Nutrition - Sydney South West Area Health Service

Sydney South West Area Health ServicePolicy No: SSW_PD2009_030Date Issued: September 2009FOOD AND NUTRITION1. Background – Food and Nutrition in HealthGood nutrition is important for everyone, but particularly for those who are ill or aresuffering from injury. The provision of good nutrition is an integral aspect of good clinicalcare and is associated with better patient outcomes. 1-3 For hospital patients, maintaininggood nutritional status or, for those who are malnourished, gaining nutritional repletion,relies on the ability of the hospital to provide foods which are both nourishing andacceptable to patients in terms of their cultural and psychosocial needs. In order toachieve the best outcomes for the patient other issues such as patient access to foodsand assistance with eating so that the food offered to the patient can be consumed, alsoneed to be addressed.Food is not only essential for physical health it is also integral to the individual’s sense ofself 4 and has strong psychological connotations associated with nurturing 5 . When aperson is admitted to hospital frequently, the only familiar thing and one of the few thingsthe patient feels qualified to evaluate, is the food. Familiar foods are important in highlystressful situations, such as being in hospital, as they represent comfort and security tothe individual 6 . Although hospital food services are constrained by limitations such assystems of food preparation and distribution; and the statutory requirements of providingsafe food to the patients; they have a duty of care to meet the nutritional requirementsand the psychosocial needs of each patient. All staff can contribute to making thehospital mealtime environment pleasant and can assist patients in accessing andenjoying their meals. Patients’ perceptions of hospital food quality have a strongcorrelation with their satisfaction with medical treatment and the hospital stay overall 7 .2. Hospital Malnutrition – Incidence & ConsequencesHospital malnutrition is a world-wide phenomenon which is multifactorial in its origin 2-3,8-12 . While many patients are malnourished on admission, patients’ nutritional status mayalso worsen during the course of admission 13 .Malnutrition in hospital may go undetected and, if untreated, cause a wide range ofadverse outcomes for the patient and for the health system.For the individual:• Apathy and depression• Dehydration• Delayed wound healing• Diarrhoea, constipation• Impaired metabolic profiles• Impaired mobility• Increased prevalence of both adverse drug reactions and drug interactions• Increased risk of pressure ulcers• Infection• Muscle wasting and weaknessCompliance with this policy directive is mandatory page 3 of 15