Helping hands for patients at mealtimes

A SPECIAL team of staff are making sure vulnerable patients get the help they need at mealtimes, say hospital bosses.

Ward nutrition assistants have been put in place at Derbyshire Royal Infirmary following concerns that elderly patients were not given enough time or help to eat their food.

Now the leader of the project, Marie Mignott, is hoping that the staff, who have initially been employed for nine months, will have their contracts extended.

She said: "Everyone is working to a quick timetable and patients weren't getting enough time to eat or enough support, and it was true that if they had been given longer they might have eaten more. We work in a very challenging environment where the pace is so quick and some of the older and more vulnerable patients do take a longer time to eat.

"There's the pressure of getting the meals out and then collecting them in again.

"Hospital can be quite an intimidating place for patients and when they are given meals some get the sense they have to rush.

"This scheme is about getting back to basics."

Mark Blaney, manager of patient group Derby Links, said problems with mealtimes in hospitals was a nationally recognised issue.

He said: "Although we have not been made aware of any issues in Derby, patients not eating and nursing staff not having the time to assist them has long been a recognised problem.

"As this can slow the healing process as well as pose additional risks to patient health, we fully support the implementation of these new posts and congratulate the trust on their proactive efforts in addressing the issue.

"It is good to see Derby leading the way in patient care."

Assistants are available to help patients seven days a week, 12 hours a day on three acute medical wards for older people at the DRI. They have been at the hospitals for four months and the impact they are having is being monitored and compared to wards which do not have nutrition assistants.

Hospital dieticians and consultants have been asked for feedback and relatives have been surveyed to help assess the scheme.

Nutrition assistant Sam Greenhalgh said she helped about four or five patients each mealtime and was responsible for making sure patients were not malnourished and did not lose weight in hospital.

She said: "I was a healthcare assistant on the ward and I applied for this post because I saw how much of a struggle it was for nursing staff to find the extra time for patients.

"We help at breakfast, give drinks out, see if they need a mid-morning snack, provide supplements and drinks, and that cycle repeats in the afternoon."

One of the patients she helped was Tony Sheldrake, 88, of Maple Drive, Chellaston, who said: "I think it's splendid. It makes it easier and Sam's very helpful."