Fund Nutrition Champions in NHS

Unions will urge the Scottish Government to fund an extension of the two-year Nutrition Champion posts in the NHS which will run out of funding this month.

Malnutrition affects one in three people on admission to hospital and care homes and apart from the human cost, the financial cost is estimated at £13billion a year, according to the British Dietetic Association.

Supporting the Association’s motion, UNISON’s Betty Thomson said, “You aren’t being fed alongside any treatment you are receiving. Food is the treatment you are receiving. So the quality of the food in the NHS is absolutely vital”.

UNISON’s ‘Food for Good’ Charter outlines policies to ensure healthy fresh food in our hospitals, designed to undo the damage that was done in the era of Compulsory Competitive Tendering.

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