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BMJ 2002;325:64 ( 6 July )
 

News roundup

Doctors must tackle patients’ nutritional needs, report says

Zosia Kmietowicz London

Doctors are being asked to pay more attention to patients’ nutritional status, something they have neglected in the past and which can delay recovery and cause many health problems, says a report from the Royal College of Physicians.

Although obesity now affects 20% of adults in Britain, up to 40% of the patients admitted to hospital and 10% of patients in the community are undernourished, says Nutrition and Patients: A Doctor’s Responsibility, and both problems tend to be overlooked by doctors even though effective treatment is available. By looking at patients’ nutritional needs, doctors can help to speed recovery, improve outcomes, prevent ill health, and reduce healthcare costs.

"This report is a wake-up call to the medical professional to take clinical nutrition seriously," said Professor George Alberti, president of the Royal College of Physicians, in the report.

"Its recommendations for nutritional assessment of all patients, for preventive measures when patients are seen to be at risk of becoming too thin or too fat, and its emphasis on the importance of well organised treatment when under- or overnutrition are sufficient to affect clinical outcome are relevant to the practice of every clinician."

The report calls for nutrition to be tackled seriously across the whole hospital and to be included in undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes for doctors and other healthcare staff.

Primary care, hospitals, and nursing and residential homes should also develop explicit protocols to cover nutritional management, which should then be audited. The working group behind the report also sets the royal college the task of spearheading the campaign to improve nutritional care in the NHS.

"The report draws attention to the importance of identifying and treating the nutritional needs of our patients. Such interventions involve a team approach that by necessity includes health professionals, NHS managers, and those involved in health education and training. The intention of the working party is for the report to be a catalyst whereby these important nutritional issues for the 21st century are recognised and addressed," said Peter Kopelman, the chairman of the working party.

The report is available from the Royal College of Physicians' publications department (tel 020 7935 1174 ext 358), price £15, or via www.rcplondon.ac.uk
 
 

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bmj.com, 13 Jul 2002 [Full text]

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