Some campaigns just make me sad. UK's Age Concern, a charity that works to promote the health and welfare of older citizens, has launched a campaign called Hungry To Be Heard because it seems nine of of ten nurses do not have time to make sure elderly patients are getting enough to eat during their stay in the hospital. As a result, over half of the elderly patients are at risk for malnutrition. As hospital patients, if the elderly are malnourished, they simply are not going to recover or heal as quickly; they are at greater risk for post-surgical complications and they suffer a higher rate of death.

Age Concern calls this a national scandal and recites these statistics:

• Six out of ten older people are at risk of becoming malnourished, or their health worsen in hospital.
• Four out of ten older people admitted to hospital are malnourished on arrival.
• Patients over the age of 80 admitted to hospital have a five times higher prevalence of malnutrition than those under the age of 50.
• The toll of malnutrition on health and health care costs is estimated to exceed £7.3 billion per year (much more than obesity).
  

Age Concern is calling for the implementation of these practices:

• Asking older patients, and the relatives of elderly patients, what their food preferences are and then serving food that falls within those preferences.
• Hospital staff taking responsibility for the food needs of older people in hospital.
• Hospital staff following professional codes.
• Older people assessed for the signs or danger of malnourishment on admission to hospital and at regular intervals during their stay.
• Introduction of protected mealtimes where elderly patients are given any assistance needed and the time needed to eat their meal.
• Implement a red tray system that alerts staff as to who needs help at mealtime without overtly jepordizing the dignity of the patient.
• Use of volunteers where appropriate.
  

Okay, I have to ask. Where are the family members for these patients? Presumably most will have grown children and grandchildren. Anyone who has been hospitalized knows that patients who have frequent visits from family, especially around mealtime, get better care. Most likely, because family members are there to help. From the times I have spent in hospital, the nurses were harried and overworked, trying the best they could to get to every patient who needed them. Someone in my family was almost always there. I would be shocked and dismayed to find myself alone, and frankly, it just wouldn't happen. This is not a judgment call, but don't we have a responsibility to our family members to be there for them? Especially as they become older?

I am certain that nurses need to be responsible for the quality of care for patients in their charge, but I also feel that nurses who work long understaffed shifts need to be supported either by increased staffing or more volunteer help. Realistically, there are only so many hours in a day and only so much one person can do.

In addition to the Hungry To Be Heard campaign, from September 23rd thorugh the 30th, Age Concern Week raises awareness for the elderly on how to get the most out of life as we age by encouraging fitness, promoting nutrition and an active lifestyle.

Age Concern seems a wonderful organization with a mission to fight ageism, elder abuse and pensioner poverty. Age Concern Buckinghamshire received an AOL Innovation in the Community Award for proposing innovative ways of using the internet. If you would like to learn more about the organization, visit Age Concern.