BAPEN Conference


BAPEN Conference MALNUTRITION MATTERS


RHONDA SMITH REPORTS – WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BECKY MCKINLAY


BAPEN knows that nutritional care is vital to delivering a quality service whether in hospital, care or the community. Now it is a legal requirement.


This key take home message for all delegates at Conference this year was brought into sharp focus by Dame Jo Williams, Chair of the NHS and social care regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the opening session.


NHS and care organisations failing to deliver adequate nutritional services will be issued with conditions with which they must comply within a set timeline. Progress against those conditions will be monitored and if improvements are not seen then the CQC has the ultimate sanction to close down wards, units and whole organisations.


“Get it right first time to support quality and to also save costs,” Dame Jo Williams urged all front-line professionals, as she described the new nutrition tool now available for CQC Inspectors to assess quality in nutritional care. Vigilance is the watchword for Inspectors as they use not only their eyes and ears but also smell and indeed taste where appropriate, to assess the care being delivered. Dame Jo went on to identify the key markers for success. Leadership, such as that being provided by BAPEN, is vital. “When we identify where things are going wrong, it is often because leadership is lacking,” she continued. Additionally, she urged delegates to ‘manage the boundaries’ and ensure appropriate information and support is provided as individuals transfer between care settings, with families and carers treated as partners and as a resource as part of this process. Full and timely recording and reporting is now also essential to demonstrate, for example, that not only nutritional screening has been done but that appropriate care plans have been put in place. “Our goal is continuous improvement,” concluded Dame Jo, “but we cannot work alone. As a regulator we can play our part in supporting the work of BAPEN and focus on collecting and celebrating good practice together.”


Dr Mike Stroud with Dame Jo Williams, Chair of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), who presented in the opening session of Conference, confirming the importance the Regulator places on nutrition and its contribution to the quality agenda.


All photos by Rhonda Smith BAPEN In Touch No.59 December 2010 2


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