Michael Porter, Nutrition Assistant, Project Support Ward 23 North Tyneside General Hospital
Our Nutrition and Dietetic department at Northumbria Healthcare has always promoted good
nutrition & hydration for all patients, staff and visitors. Our Nutrition Nurses regularly train staff on
the importance of and correct use of the MUST tool and carry out environment audits at mealtimes
to give a baseline of good practice within the trust.
In 2011, based on best evidence, our Hip fracture quality improvement programme (HIP QIP)
introduced the use of nutrition assistants to successfully improve mortality and patient experience.
We wanted to see if this approach would have a similarly powerful effect on medical care of the
elderly wards.
Through our Shared Purpose programme, funded by The Health Foundation, we recruited three
individuals, whose sole purpose is to promote nutrition and encourage increased intake in an
environment where care is personalised and eating and socialising promoted. The activities included:
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Providing more information and resources on dementia and delirium for families
Making more active use of the day room
Holding weekly snack clubs where families are invited to join in
Scheduling fortnightly singing therapy sessions.
Feedback has been hugely positive from patients, families and ward staff:
“He’s made such a difference …..it has meant my patients spend time with the same person on a
daily basis who can focus on nutrition and give them extra snacks… the patients are cheerful and look
forward to seeing his face”
“the ability to eat is not purely about the physical ability or the quality of food, it is about a sense of
wellbeing and hope… what seemed like a little kindness in filling mum’s chocolate box was so
significant, and she ate them because (you) had given them to her)… thank you for the positive
impact you have had on mum’s health”
Wellbeing is an area that has been incorporated in most things we do and endeavour to achieve in
the future. Wellbeing is something that is sometimes forgotten about, however along with the little
things, if achieved then the results are nothing but positive.
As well as the improvements to patients’ experience, we are on target to see our patients receive an
extra million calories this year. In a short space of time we have already seen statistically significant
improvements – on a ward with a nutritional assistant patients are more likely to gain weight during
their hospital stay. The reverse was true prior to the nutrition assistants being recruited.
There is also an exciting trend towards a positive reduction in length of stay, which would indicate
that patients are becoming well enough to leave hospital quicker and would more than secure the
return on investment.
Further analysis on greater numbers is required to ensure sufficient power behind these early
findings relating to length of stay but we remain hopeful and very excited!
Along with our project manager, the team meet up at least once a month to share our success
stories and plan ahead towards developing the role even further. We began planning for NHW2015
back in the first week of January 2015. Resources and internal communications have promoted the
week already and this year’s NHW looks to be our most successful year yet. Nutrition and hydration
along with wellbeing is a priority to everyone and comes high up in the priority scale when meeting
our patients all round care.
The following activities have been planned for NHW2015:
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Ward bake off
Ward recipe book
Themed snack round
Themed “World High Tea 2015 (Canadian, Miners, English high tea)
Tasting session’s (Gluten Free, Smoothie, Tea Tasting)
Creative soft drink session
Reminisces sessions.
This year we have used resources including awareness boards and personalised invitations inviting
patients and visitors to our world tea parties. This has helped get the message that we take
nutritional care seriously and engaged everyone to help promote NHW2015.
Michael Porter
Nutrition Assistant, Project Support Ward 23
North Tyneside General Hospital