Burstow joins the Healthcare Commission in calling on the NHS to protect the dignity of older people

10.56.25am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 15th Mar 2007

Paul Burstow, Chair of the All Party Group on Older People has today urged NHS trusts to treat older people with the dignity they deserve.

Mr Burstow's comments come in response to a statement from the Healthcare Commission announcing that it will undertake 25 inspections throughout March focused specifically on the treatment and nutrition of older people.

A survey of 80,000 adult inpatients last year revealed that 40% of people requiring help feeding said they either never or only sometimes received help. An assessment of NHS complaints revealed that a significant number concerned poor food quality, lack of help with eating and patients being given food they could not eat.

The Commission's inspections aim to highlight problems and ensure that best practice in inpatient care is being adopted.

Mr Burstow has campaigned tirelessly for older people in care to be treated with dignity and for malnutrition to be a higher priority in health and social care. In August, 2006 Paul Burstow revealed that there were more cases of malnutrition among older patients discharged from NHS hospitals than were admitted for the same condition.

Commenting on the Commission's announcement Mr Burstow said:

"When older people are in the care of the NHS, they should safe, respected and empowered, not left to struggle with food they are unable to eat"

"For too long the Government has neglected the issue of malnutrition, at the expense of older people's dignity."

"The Healthcare Commission's investigation will throw a welcome spotlight on this problem."

"But the question remains: will the government really commit to solving it?"

Notes to Editors:

From a survey the Healthcare Commission published last year of some 80,000 adult inpatients those that needed help feeding themselves accounted for around a 5th of this number. Of that 5th 18% said that they never and 21% said that they only sometimes received help feeding themselves.

In a further analysis of NHS complaints approximately 7% related to nursing care with the majority of those regarding the nutrition of the patients in the areas of poor food quality, lack of help with eating and patients being given food they could not eat.

In 2006 Paul Burstow revealed that there were more cases of malnutrition among older patients discharged from hospital than were admitted for the same condition. During 2004/05, National Health Service Hospitals in England saw 36 admissions of patients aged 75 to 84 years where the main diagnosis was malnutrition. Within the same period, 40 patients aged 75 to 84 were discharged in a state of malnourishment.