Are we wasting our money on food supplements in elder care wards?

Increased awareness of the problem of undernutrition in hospital settings has resulted in many initiatives to try to improve the situation. Evidence is lacking, however, on which interventions are effective. In this study conducted in the north-west of England, the focus was on the prescription and consumption of nutritional supplements (sip feeds). The sample consisted of 96 patients on four elder care wards. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for each patient, and the amount of sip feed consumed was measured throughout a 24-hour period. A questionnaire was also used to assess the palatability of the feeds and the reasons for wastage. It was concluded that there was no correlation between the numbers of patients with a low albumin and BMI and the prescription of sip feeds. The high level of wastage where feeds had been prescribed was related to poor palatability.