Patients left to starve on NHS wards

The number of NHS patients suffering from malnourishment as they leave hospital has nearly doubled, new figures show. Around 140,000 patients were discharged after being inadequately fed on NHS wards last year, statistics obtained by the Conservatives reveal. The number released from hospital suffering from malnutrition, nutritional anaemia, or other nutritional deficiencies has risen by 84 per cent in the decade since Labour came to power, from 74,431 in 1997 to 139,127.

The vast majority arrived in hospital suffering from these conditions. But the Department of Health figures also show the nutritional condition of at least 8,500 patients actually worsened while they were in hospital in the last year. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines say all patients should be screened for signs of malnutrition on admission to hospital and treated accordingly. Campaigners complain that elderly people in particular are not given enough help to eat in hospital.

There has also been a rise in the number of patients being admitted to hospital suffering from malnutrition to 130,594, up from 70,658 a decade ago. The figure rose by 12 per cent in the last year alone. The shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien, who obtained the statistics, described them as a "scandal". He said: "Malnourished patients are more prone to infections, have more complications after surgery, and have higher mortality rates - yet the Government allows more than 130,000 patients to enter hospital in the state. "If patients are at risk of malnutrition, then they should be offered extra support before going into hospital, and they should be cared for better whilst they are in hospital. Nurses need to be given the time and equipment to get on with the job of caring for our most vulnerable patients. "It is a scandal that in 21st-century Britain, we allow vulnerable patients to be let out of hospital in a malnourished state, and it is even worse that we allow thousands of patients to get more poorly while they are in hospital."

The worst area in the country for malnutrition was the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust in Greater Manchester, where 4,947 patients were discharged suffering malnourishment, followed by the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, with 2,771, and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. They were among nearly 50 hospital trusts around the country that discharged more than 1,000 malnourished patients last year.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that the poor quality of hospital food is putting patients off to the extent that 13 million meals are thrown away each year, at an average cost of 2.65 pounds each.

Last year, the health minister Ivan Lewis admitted patients were being starved on wards, with some elderly people given little more than a scoop of mashed potato for lunch. Others were "tortured" by having meal trays placed out of reach, which they were too weak to pull towards them. Age Concern has protested that elderly people are often given non-pureed food, which they cannot chew or swallow. Michael Summers of the Patients' Association said: "Families tell us that when visiting elderly relatives in hospital in particular they noticed how malnourished they are. "Nurses are so rushed off their feet that it is no surprise that patients end up malnourished. "We have heard stories of elderly people who haven't had a meal all day because they have just been overlooked. The food is just taken away when the patient hasn't been able to eat any of it. "It is a scandal in the 21st century - it ought never to happen."

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Deaths of two new mothers at same hospital WERE probably linked, says expert

Two mothers have died from an identical infection after giving birth at the same hospital on the same day. An expert said it was "extremely unlikely" that their deaths were not linked. Amy Kimmance, 39, and Jasmine Pickett, 29, had their babies at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester on December 21. Within 72 hours they had both died from complications linked to streptococcus A infection - known as Strep A - which normally causes sore throats.

Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust insisted investigations so far showed their deaths were coincidental. A spokeswoman said Mrs Kimmance developed fatal toxic shock syndrome as a result of a group A streptococcal infection while Mrs Pickett died from a sudden onset of severe pneumonia, likely to have been caused by a group A streptococcal infection.

However, Mark Enright, professor of molecular epidemiology at Imperial College, London, said: "It's extremely unlikely in my view that they are not linked." Professor Enright said he believed a member of staff had been carrying the infection in their throat, got it on to their hands and passed it on. He said he would be interested to see the results of laboratory tests on the women to see if the identity of the bacteria was the same.

The deaths raised fresh concern over hygiene and infection control practices in Health Service hospitals. Earlier this week David Cameron said hospitals would face hefty fines for each patient who catches a superbug if the Conservatives win power, saying infection levels of MRSA and C.diff, which cause several thousand deaths a year, were "unacceptable".

Mrs Kimmance, a teacher at St Swithun's independent school for girls in Winchester, went home with her new daughter Tess to husband David and their two other children on the day she gave birth. Her condition suddenly deteriorated and she was readmitted to hospital on December 23 where she died of fatal toxic shock syndrome triggered by Strep A infection.

A day later, on Christmas Eve, Mrs Pickett died after suddenly developing severe pneumonia, almost certainly caused by the same infection. She had given birth to her first child, a boy named Christopher. Both babies survived....

Streptococcus A is not a superbug, which means if an individual has a sore throat it can be eradicated with antibiotics. But it can cause aggressive infections if it gets into the bloodstream. There are about 1,200 bloodstream infections linked to Strep A reported to the Health Protection Agency each year, some of which lead to death. The trust spokesman said that the maternity unit had remained open as there had been no results directly linking it or the staff with the cause of the fatalities.

But she added that extensive swabbing of staff and the unit had been carried out as a precaution. She refused to confirm whether antibiotics had been given to staff and the families of the dead women, which would eradicate the infection. She added that a full investigation was taking place. The Royal Hampshire County Hospital missed its target for reducing MRSA last year and had 191 cases of the potentially deadly stomach bug C.diff between April 2006 and March. Its kitchens were severely criticised last year and as a result it now has to submit to six-monthly inspections.

Around 100 mothers die in the UK each year giving birth or shortly afterwards, about two a week.

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