GUERNSEY is ahead of the UK in terms of ensuring that elderly hospital patients eat properly. The Health and Social Services Department recently undertook a benchmarking exercise in a move to improve nutrition and diet on all its long-stay wards for the elderly.

That has led to the implementation of protected mealtimes to free nurses so they can help patients eat.

‘The nursing staff are responsible for serving the food and assisting with feeding if required,’ said a department spokeswoman.

‘This enables the nursing staff to monitor the portion size and the amount the patient consumes.

‘On a number of long-stay wards there is a nutritional-needs assistant to help ensure that each patient has the correct amount of food, fluids and any supplements prescribed by the dietitian.’

One woman, whose 86-year-old mother is in a long-term ward at the King Edward VII Hospital, said that in her experience the level of care provided there was exemplary.

‘The majority of the patients on my mother’s ward need help with eating and drinking and the staff are wonderful, treating them with great kindness and always being mindful of their dignity,’ said the woman, who asked not to be named.

‘My mother suffers from dementia and has profound physical problems but I’ve never had a moment’s worry about her care since she’s been there. That’s a huge relief for my family and me because we know from experience that it’s not the case in some other places.’

But the level of care witnessed by the woman on other wards has been inconsistent.

‘My mother has been ill for a long time and until now her care has varied widely. In one place I remember seeing a woman who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease being served soup and being left to try to eat it on her own. It was heartbreaking,’ she said.

A study has found that nine out of 10 nurses in UK hospitals did not have time to ensure patients ate properly.

Age Concern believes this could be one of the reasons why more than half of older patients are at risk of becoming malnourished in hospital.

The charity is launching a campaign – Hungry to be Heard – to raise awareness of the problem in the UK.

‘It isn’t a problem as far as I’m concerned and I wouldn’t expect it to be,’ said local branch chairman Richard Barneby.

Cathy Bailey, matron at Summerland House, said that the care home assessed all residents for nutritional needs and food consumption by patients was a top priority.

‘There are a number of residents who are unable to eat or drink by themselves so a member of the care team, either a nurse or assistant, will sit with and feed the resident to ensure they eat sufficiently on an each-meal basis,’ she said.

‘Any nurse will acknowledge that acute medical wards are not the place for elderly care but often there isn’t a suitable place for them,’ she said.