Hywel Dda Nutrition and Dietetics service named top nutritional screeners in Wales

11 March 2024

For the third year running, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Nutrition and Dietetics service has received high praise for its data collection for Malnutrition Awareness Week in November.

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 & Dietetic team organised the screening survey on hospital wards and in some community settings. 

Tom Cooze, one of our dieticians within the Carmarthenshire Team has been named the ‘top screener’ in Wales, by supporting the entry of the Carmarthenshire data, which was gathered by the whole team in the county.

Emma Catling, Hywel Dda UHB’s Malnutrition Strategic Lead, said: “It is extremely good to see Hywel Dda UHB being successfully represented within such a significant UK wide survey, with the three counties of the health board being committed to the collection of this data. This means that we can support build a better picture of the scale of the problem of malnutrition within our care settings, such that opportunities for prevention & improvement can be sought. As Teams across the Health Board, we aim to support people to prevent malnutrition, and to detect and address malnutrition problems early by screening.”