Patients are left to starve on NHS wards...

Patients left to starve on NHS wards

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"The number released from hospital suffering from malnutrition, nutritional anaemia, or other nutritional deficiencies has risen by 84 per cent in the decade since Labour came to power, from 74,431 in 1997 to 139,127."

"The worst area in the country for malnutrition was the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust in Greater Manchester, where 4,947 patients were discharged suffering malnourishment, followed by the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, with 2,771, and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

They were among nearly 50 hospital trusts around the country that discharged more than 1,000 malnourished patients last year.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that the poor quality of hospital food is putting patients off to the extent that 13 million meals are thrown away each year, at an average cost of £2.65 each.

Last year, the health minister Ivan Lewis admitted patients were being starved on wards, with some elderly people given little more than a scoop of mashed potato for lunch.

Others were "tortured" by having meal trays placed out of reach, which they were too weak to pull towards them."

When I was in hospital (Northern General Hospital, Sheffield) for a month last summer, my main complaint about the food was the high salt content of most of the meal choices. - As a steroid victim I need to avoid eating salt and salty food, so I had to rely on friends bringing me food that I could eat.