I propose to take Questions Nos. 342 and 348 together.
Minister Harris has made hospital food and malnutrition in hospitals a priority issue. In this context and with reference to the Deputy’s question on the relevant report, the Department of Health published Food and Nutritional Care in Hospitals – Guidelines for preventing Under-Nutrition in Acute Hospitalsin 2009. These Guidelines included a recommendation on using a nutritional screening tool, the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST).
Currently the Department is working with the HSE on the development of the National Clinical Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of under nutrition: Use of Nutrition Support in adults in the Acute Care Setting. This is to ensure use of the MUST tool in all Irish Hospitals and make it a mandatory requirement for all patients to be screened on admission to hospital.
The HSE is also addressing the issue by establishing a multidisciplinary hospital food and nutrition policy development group. This group includes representation from the chairs of the Nutrition and Hydration Steering Committee from a hospital within each Hospital Group. The HSE has employed a Project Dietitian with specific skills and experience in the area of hospital food/menus to lead on the development of a National Hospital Food and Nutrition Policy and Implementation Plan. This policy will be supported by the Acute Hospital Division and the Health and Wellbeing Division.
The Food and Nutrition Policy and Implementation Plan will include minimum nutrition standards and refer to other relevant policies, such as protected meal times policy, the use of oral nutritional supplements, nutrition screening and referral pathways. Oral Nutrition Supplements (ONS) are designed to prevent and treat under-nutrition. Evidence of their efficacy is underpinned by expert clinical guidelines including those of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). There is increasing evidence of their cost effectiveness compared to standard care, arising largely from reductions in use of acute care resources.
I also understand that the Department is carrying out a health service Capacity Review which will have a wider scope than previous exercises which concentrated on just acute bed capacity. This Review will examine key elements of primary and community care infrastructure in addition to hospital facilities. It has involved a major data gathering exercise in relation to activity, un-met demand and capacity within the acute, primary and social care services sectors, analysis of that data, baseline forecasting of both demand and associated capacity requirements for each health sector and consideration and modelling of the potential impacts of policy change and productivity improvements. The Review will provide a basis for determining both the extent of capacity requirements over the next 15 years and the type of capacity needed. The findings will also inform the development of a new 10 year national capital plan. Work on this Review is at an advanced stage and a final report is expected early in the new year (2018).
