Skip to main content

Malnutrition

Volume 450: debated on Thursday 26 October 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent of malnutrition (a) on admission to hospital and (b) in hospital. (93942)

The information requested on the extent of malnutrition on admission to hospital is in the table.

Total number of finished admission episodes where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition;

Number

Kwashiorkor

1

Nutritional marasmus

10

Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition

13

Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree

0

Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition

1

Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition

233

Total malnutrition

258

Notes:

1. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.

2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.

3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, i.e. the data are ungrossed.

Source:

Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care. Information on the extent of malnutrition in hospital is not collected centrally as HES does not cover assessment of malnutrition once a patient has been admitted.