Why are we still hungry to be heard?Mary MilneSenior Campaigns Officer, Age UK

Hungry to be Heard

• Hungry to be Heard was launched by Age Concern England in 2006

• Aimed to end the scandal of older people becoming malnourished in hospitals.

Age UK’s 7 steps

1. Hospital staff must listen to older people, their relatives & carers

2. All ward staff must become ‘food aware’

3. Hospital staff must follow their own professional codes & guidance

4. Older people must be assessed for signs or risk of malnutrition on admission and at regular intervals during their stay.

5. Hospitals should introduce ‘protected mealtimes’

6. Hospitals should implement a ‘red tray’ system and ensure it works in practice

7. Hospitals should use trained volunteers where appropriate

Still Hungry to be Heard

Age UK called on the Care Quality Commission to undertake a special review of hospital mealtimes

CQC Spot checks on nutrition

Compliant - no action(9 in Lon-

don)

Compliant - im-

prove-ments

needed(6 in Lon-

don)

Non-compli-

ant(1 in Lon-

don)

Chart Title

Why are hospitals failing?

• Leadership: ‘Leaders in hospitals must create a culture in which good care can flourish’

• Staff attitudes: ‘Task-focused care us not person-centred care… Kindness and compassion costs nothing.’

• Resources: ‘Having plenty of staff does not guarantee good care but not having enough is a sure path to poor care.’

• Lack of priority given to nutrition

Hospitals should publish malnutrition data

• Help to make malnutrition a priority

• Measure progress and success

• Older people and their families need information

• Data should already be available

• Medical experts need to agree format

Malnutrition: publish the numbers

Monday 10 October: we handed over 2000 campaign cards to the Dept of Health.

Thursday 13 October: Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health, said on C4 News: ‘I wouldn’t under-estimate the power of publishing data, of transparency and of an open culture across the NHS.’

 

Hungry to be Heard

Mary Milne, Senior Campaigns Officer, Age UK

mary.milne@ageuk.org.uk,

020 303 31437