Berlin: (hib/PK) Physicians and nursing scientists are calling for more professional catering management in hospitals and nursing homes. Many patients are already malnourished when they are admitted to the respective facilities, the experts explained in an expert discussion of the health committee on Wednesday in Berlin. Systematic screening and procedural rules are needed.
Thomas Reinbold from the Dortmund Clinic emphasized that the main issue is malnutrition caused by illness, i.e. multimorbid patients who are unable to eat or drink enough. In his clinic, about every fourth patient is malnourished upon admission. In particularly vulnerable groups, for example in geriatrics, the rate is over 60 percent.
Reinbold spoke out in favor of mandatory nutritional screening because such patients would have increased morbidity and mortality. Malnutrition not only prolongs recovery, but jeopardizes it. Nutritional therapy brings advantages and reduces the high follow-up costs.
Matthias Pirlich from the German Society for Nutritional Medicine (DGEM) also addressed the evident connection between nutrition and treatment success. The available study data showed that 20 to 30 percent of all people who are admitted to a hospital are already malnourished on the day of admission. This applies to Germany as well as to other Western European countries.
The medical consequences are serious, said Pirlich, because malnutrition increases mortality. This has also become clear in the corona pandemic. Mortality can be noticeably reduced through individualized nutritional management. This is probably even cost-neutral, because the treatment costs would be reduced at the same time.
According to the doctor Kristin Hünninghaus from the Essen University Hospital, the nutritional behavior of the Germans differs greatly from the nutritional recommendations. This leads to chronic diseases, deterioration in nutritional status, hospitalization and an enormous burden on healthcare systems. She called for a national dietary change.
Hünninghaus complained that the food supply in many hospitals is neither healthy nor sustainable or tasty. Many patients let the food go back untouched, losing weight and strength as a result. Also, very few patients are offered medical nutritional treatments, although this would be indicated in many cases. In order to counter the decoupling of catering and therapy, new structures would have to take effect in the hospitals.
Nursing scientist Petra Blumenberg from the Patient Safety Action Alliance spoke of a highly relevant problem that has been known for many years and could potentially cause harm to patients. The urgent recommendation is therefore to create multi-professional schedules and to make certain procedures mandatory. The emergence of malnutrition must be effectively prevented. There are too few dietitians in clinics and nursing homes.