Malnutrition
Dietitians are critical to the prevention and treatment of malnutrition as they increase nutritional intake and promote weight gain [i] and offer individualised nutrition advice, to improve functional and nutritional status in the elderly.[ii]
Dietitians are essential in the creation and implementation of an effective local nutrition plan, ensuring good cost management.[iii]
The employment of a medicines management dietitian enabled the improved diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition in adults in the community across Warwickshire, with an estimated saving of between £200,000–250,000 (£48,000 per 100,000 population).[iv]
The London Procurement Programme Clinical Oral Nutrition Support Project showed that a dietitian led project was able to reduce expenditure by 15% over two years. A saving of £261,122 (12%) was forecast in 2011/12 for Outer North East London compared with a rise of almost £200,000 (10%) in 2010/11.[v]
[i]Baldwin C. and Weekes E (2012) Dietary advice with or without oral nutritional supplements for disease-related malnutrition in adults (Review) [online] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD002008.pub4/pdf[Accessed May 2014]
[ii] Beck, AM., Kjær, S., Hansen, BS., Storm, RL., Thal-Jantzen K. and Bitz C. (2013) Follow-up home visits with registered dietitians have a positive effect on the functional and nutritional status of geriatric medical patients after discharge: a randomized controlled trial Clin Rehabil 27: 483
[iii] Skinner and Smith (2008) Dietitian management of oral nutritional supplement prescribing is cost effective and improves quality of care. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 67, E120.
[iv] NHS South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (2011) Oral nutritional supplement prescribing review: to reduce the number of patients with malnutrition [online] Available at: http://goo.gl/UdUAdx [Accessed May 2014]
[v] Forrest, C. and Wilkie, L (2009) London Procurement Programme Clinical Oral Nutritional Support Project. London: London Procurement Programme. (LPP resources and reports are available from the LPP website www.lpp.nhs.uk under pharmacy and medicines management work stream).
