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New UK wide-data on the prevalence of Malnutrition to be revealed at BAPEN's 2007 'Malnutrition Matters' Conference.

The data currently available on the prevalence of malnutrition on admission to hospital and care homes in the UK is over 10 years old, limited and inconsistent.

BAPEN will reveal on Tuesday 27th November, the first day of the 'Malnutrition Matters' Conference, the top line data from its first Nutrition Screening Week (NSW). For the first time, reliable and comprehensive figures will be available on the percentage of the population moving from various settings into hospital or care that are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.

Over three days during the Nutrition Screening Week (25-27 September), 560 registered hospitals and care homes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland screened new patients being admitted to hospital, and residents entering care homes, for malnutrition or risk of malnutrition using criteria from BAPEN's the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool ('MUST').*

239 of the registered centres were Hospitals, 294 Care Homes and 27 Mental Health Units. 76% of the centres were located in England, 12% in Scotland, 7% in Northern Ireland and 5% in Wales.

"The data provided by the NSW across the UK will mirror what is happening in the community where most malnutrition is to be found," declares Chair of BAPEN, Professor Marinos Elia. "Through screening for malnutrition on admission, hospitals and care homes can identify malnutrition and address it by implementing appropriate care plans - whether that involves food, adjusted diets, or specialist nutrition support and monitoring.

NSW will provide evidence for hospitals and care homes on the scale of the problem they have to tackle in their own care settings and regions - the numbers of patients and residents for whom a nutritional care plan must be provided - and enable them to consider how best to organise themselves to respond to that need."

BAPEN's Nutrition Screening Week was endorsed and supported by the Department of Health and Ivan Lewis Care Services Minister, who will be speaking straight after the announcement of the results of the NSW on the soon to be launched National Nutrition Action Plan. Delegates to the Malnutrition Matters Conference will be able to question the Minister on the content and objectives of the Plan.

BAPEN's Malnutrition Matters Conference also features key symposia on Feeding the Older Person in the Community, Nutrition in Cancer, Nutrition and Liver Disease, The Pre-term Infant, Safe Enteral Nutrition and practical workshops on the implications of the Mental Capacity Act on professional practice.

Malnutrition Matters BAPEN Conference 27/28 November 2007, Harrogate. Full details on the Conference including Registration and Accommodation are available here.

ENDS/

Further media information:

01264-710428 / 07887-714957 info@minervaprc.com

Notes to Editors

*‘MUST' Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool was developed and produced by the Malnutrition Advisory Group (MAG) of BAPEN (British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition).

BAPEN is undertaking the first national nutrition screening survey in the UK across both hospital and community care settings 25 - 27th September 2007, in collaboration with the British Dietetic Association (BDA) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and with the support of the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). The Department of Health in England, the Chief Nursing Officer in Northern Ireland, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Government have confirmed their support for the initiative.

Why is such a survey needed?

The prevalence of malnutrition in UK is based on data collected in studies undertaken over 10 years ago involving a limited number of institutions. It may not reflect the magnitude of the problem today.
Different criteria were used to define malnutrition in these studies.
The BAPEN Nutrition Screening Week will be the first prospective national survey of the prevalence of malnutrition on admission to hospital and care in the UK.

What is the purpose of the survey?

It will complement the data collected during the European Nutrition Day audits. The amount of paperwork required for the UK survey is considerably less.
It will be used to inform the Department of Health and other government departments, other organisations and the media of the current magnitude of the problem of malnutrition on admission to hospital and care homes.

What will be the outcomes of the survey?

Data from participating centres will be analysed and returned to reporters to enable local data to be compared with national figures.
The results of the survey will be presented at BAPEN 2007 (Harrogate 27/28 Nov.)
The results of the survey will also form the basis of launching or promoting other initiatives such as education and training of health professionals, including nurses, who usually undertake nutritional screening.