General view of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital at Colney
April 2009
NNUH / Hospital / Colney / Parking / A & E
Picture: James Bass
Copy: Rebecca Gough
For: EN News
Evening News © 2009 (01603) 772434
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital told to improve elderly patients’ nutrition
By Shaun Lowthorpe
Thursday, June 30, 2011
9:00 AM
Norfolk’s flagship hospital has been told it must work harder to make sure patients are properly fed and nourished.
A report by the Care Quality Commission said there were “moderate concerns” around how the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital meets the nutritional needs of older patients, which means their health and well-being could be affected.
Inspectors carried out a visit to the Elsing and Heydon wards on March 23.
The report does praise some aspects of dignity and nutrition. The report says: “The people with whom we spoke told us that they were listened to and were given the opportunity to express their views about their care, support and treatment. Some people were complimentary about the medical staff, they said that staff were always kind and made comments such as ‘I am very happy with the care I am given’.”
Although a choice and a good standard of food was available, the watchdog said the red tray system designed to make sure that staff knew which patients needed help with eating and drinking “did not work effectively” when they visited.
Some meals were not placed in reach of patients while others were waiting for at least 15 minutes with their food in front of them for a someone to help them them, while two members of staff were chatting to each other while helping patients eat their meal.
Ward records also showed that nutritional assessments had not been done with 24 hours of hospital admission and in one case took five days. One person who had been refusing food for several weeks had not been seen by a dietician because the assessment was not marked as showing a concern, while staff had no information or guidance setting out what support they could give.
“People cannot be assured that their nutritional needs will be properly assessed and met due to a lack of effective systems that are intended to support people to maintain good nutrition and hydration,” the report said.
Minor concerns were also raised about respecting and involving people who use the service in the decisions being made about their treatment, but people using the service can be “assured that they will be provided with respect, dignity and privacy by the staff during their stay in hospital”.
Nick Coveney, director of nursing, said since the report a comprehensive action had been put in place including new ways of managing meal times and making sure patients get the right food on time and are supported by staff.
“We are disappointed that while nutritional screening was undertaken by staff it wasn’t always as timely as it should be and this is not acceptable,” he said. “It is important we learn from this and put in place systems to ensure it happens promptly.”
The report follows on from a similar inspection at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, which found that standards of patient dignity were not being met.
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13 comments
Not feeding our sick old people in hospital is a sick issue, Those responsible are vermin.
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keith gerrard
Monday, July 4, 2011
I suggest you write to the British government, co Lithuania, Nigeria or where ever it now is Cuthbert.
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keith gerrard
Monday, July 4, 2011
Could the EDP provide an enigma machine or a translation service so i can break the code on Keith Gerrard's posts.
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CUTHBERT. J TWILLIE
Friday, July 1, 2011
It is a shame the truth cannot out. A sign of the times and the deep embedded corruption feeding pockets.
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keith gerrard
Friday, July 1, 2011
We have all allowed our old people to end up being treated in this way. We should all apologise for it.
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keith gerrard
Friday, July 1, 2011
Anyone have a clue what Keith Gerrard is on about ?
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CUTHBERT. J TWILLIE
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Lets be honest.Most of the food seved in hospitals these days is pretty poor due to the fact it is either from a frozen or chilled supplier miles away.Most of it is at least 5 days old and regenerated by unskilled operatives .Until food is viewed as being as important as medicine there will never be any improvement.
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Laurence Perlmutter
Thursday, June 30, 2011
IMHO we must apologise to those from abroad in our local care system. Sorry that we seem unable to accept your working practices.
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keith gerrard
Thursday, June 30, 2011
If we cannot feed our sick and old today, when the young of today become old they might just as well top themselves.
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keith gerrard
Thursday, June 30, 2011
IMHO we must apologise to those people from abroad who rely on jobs in the NHS Norwich.
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keith gerrard
Thursday, June 30, 2011
People reading this who have elderly family members at the N & N and have not been happy with their feeding really must say something at the hospital. I personally have spoken to scores & scores of people who complain that food is placed out of reach, is incorrect for the dietary needs of patients or is just plain inedible. They don't like to say anything in case it jeopardises further "care" of their loved ones, but they really must. These results were on 2 wards on ONE day. The picture would be a lot worse if they'd spent as many days as I have on those elderly wards with family members.
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samphirelover
Thursday, June 30, 2011
People reading this who have elderly family members at the N & N and have not been happy with their feeding really must say something at the hospital. I personally have spoken to scores & scores of people who complain that food is placed out of reach, is incorrect for the dietary needs of patients or is just plain inedible. They don't like to say anything in case it jeopardises further "care" of their loved ones, but they really must. These results were on 2 wards on ONE day. The picture would be a lot worse if they'd spent as many days as I have on those elderly wards with family members.
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samphirelover
Thursday, June 30, 2011
I do not believe this. What do they actualy provide in health care? Paperwork?
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keith gerrard
Thursday, June 30, 2011