For the second year running, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Nutrition and Dietetics service, in collaboration with the Quality Improvement and Practice development teams, has received high praise for its work during the recent Malnutrition Awareness Week.

Malnutrition is a very serious condition that can lead to significant health problems, including increasing the risk of falls, poor wound healing, loss of strength, increased likelihood of admission to hospital, longer hospital stays and slower recovery.

Malnutrition Awareness Week (MAW) is an annual UK initiative led by the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN). As part of a national annual survey undertaken during the week, members of the health board’s Nutrition and Dietetics team organised the screening survey on hospital wards and in some community settings.

Having collected highest number of surveys, the Carmarthenshire team was also named top screener in Wales by BAPEN.

Emma Catling, Hywel Dda UHB’s Malnutrition Strategic Lead, said:

“Our teams across the three counties performed extremely well and I’m proud of their commitment to collecting the data and supporting the nutritional screening process.”

“As well as contributing to a significant UK wide survey, we also now have meaningful local data which will be used to improve our services with the aim of preventing malnutrition and helping to detect and address malnutrition problems early.”