Report warns that 10,000 people in borough at risk of malnutrition - Burstow

11.52.00am GMT Wed 11th Feb 2009

MP for Sutton and Cheam, Paul Burstow is leading parliamentary calls for action to tackle malnutrition in the UK. His call has won the backing of colleagues from across all parties.

Three million people are living at risk of malnutrition in the UK, around 10,000 in the borough of Sutton. The cost of the malnutrition is estimated to be £13 billion every year, according to a new report launched in Parliament last week.

The report, Combating Malnutrition: Recommendations for Action, was launched in parliament at an event hosted by Mr Burstow, is the culmination of work undertaken by a group of experts in malnutrition, led by BAPEN. It details how the vast majority of those at risk of the condition are living in the community - and not in care homes and hospitals, where the focus of Government action has been to date.

It also sets out how the disproportionate burden of malnutrition in deprived areas exacerbates health inequalities.

Paul Burstow MP said:

"There has rightly been a lot of attention on malnutrition in hospitals and care homes but that is just the tip of iceberg. With so much coverage of obesity it is shocking that so many people in the UK are malnourished and that an estimated 10,000 people in the borough could be at risk.

"BAPEN's report is an important warning. What this work demonstrates is that just focusing on obesity is wrong and as much attention must be paid to malnutrition.

"Given that the population of the UK is ageing and long-term conditions are set to rise, we need to take action now to help those suffering from malnutrition."

The text of the EDM is below:

EDM 735

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR PARENTERAL AND ENTERAL NUTRITION'S REPORT ON COMBATING MALNUTRITION

09.02.2009

Burstow, Paul

That this House welcomes the report Combating Malnutrition by the Advisory Group on Malnutrition led by British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition; thanks the Advisory Group's members for giving up their time to identify the steps which can be taken by the Government and by all those with caring responsibilities to address the condition; expresses concern over the Advisory Group's finding that three million people are malnourished in the UK at any one time and that the total costs to the public purse of disease-related malnutrition are in excess of £13 billion per annum; notes the findings of the Advisory Group that malnutrition is closely linked to socio-economic factors such as deprivation and that as a result the burden of malnutrition exacerbates health inequalities; endorses the Advisory Group's recommendation for joined-up action by the Government, the NHS, the voluntary sector and other parties to work together to tackle malnutrition; calls on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to consider the case for including malnutrition in the Quality and Outcomes Framework of the General Medical Services contract from 2010-11; and further calls on the Government to ensure that as many of the Advisory Group's recommendations are implemented in full and as soon as possible, including the requirement to undertake nutritional screening in line with the recommendations already made by NICE.

ENDS