Fund Nutrition Champions in NHS

Betty Thomson

Congress will urge the 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 has been campaigning for a number of years to maintain and improve the quality of food in the NHS our 'Food for Good' Charter outlines a number of different policies that will ensure healthy fresh food in our hospitals, designed to undo the damage that was done in the era of Compulsory Competitive tendering.

"There may be savings to be made by removing the nutrition champions posts, but by failing to embed the role of proper nutrition in the recovery process, what will be the cost in longer hospital stays and in readmission?" asked Betty

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