Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure people at risk of disease-related malnutrition are supported through the (a) implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan and (b) provision of neighbourhood health services.

Disease-related malnutrition is a clinical condition affecting all ages across the community and in all health and care settings. Diagnosis and detection are key, and health staff are trained to spot the early warning signs of malnutrition so effective individual treatment can be put in place.

All National Health Services are recommended to adhere to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines CG3, titled Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, and Quality Standard QS24 which sets out clear requirements for nutritional screening and support across all care settings.

Under these guidelines, all hospital inpatients are screened for malnutrition risk on admission and regularly thereafter. In primary and community care, people are screened when registering at general practice surgeries and when there is clinical concern, and care home residents are screened on admission and when there is a clinical concern. It is also recommended that screening should be considered at other opportunities, for example health checks and flu injections. Screening is undertaken using validated tools such as the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). Healthcare professionals receive training in identifying and managing malnutrition, and individualised care plans are developed for those identified as at risk.

The Department recognises the significant impact of disease-related malnutrition on health outcomes and healthcare costs. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan places a strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention. It supports the expansion of community-based services, including neighbourhood health centres, which will provide nutrition advice, weight management support, and will address the wider determinants of health. These measures aim to shift care closer to home and reduce reliance on hospital-based services.

We have launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme in 43 places across England to improve the care they provide to their communities. Further information on the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme is available at the following link:

https://neighbourhood-health.co.uk/