Hywel Dda team named best nutritional screeners in Wales

6 December 2021

A team from Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Nutrition and Dietetics service has received high praise for its work during Octobers Malnutrition Awareness Week.

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.

The service’s Pembrokeshire team was so successful that it was named top screener in the whole of Wales by BAPEN, meaning it completed and collected the highest number of screening surveys on patients.

Emma Catling, Hywel Dda UHB’s Malnutrition Strategic Lead, said: “Our teams across the three counties performed extremely well and I’m very proud of them, with the Pembrokeshire acute and community team’s commitment being excellent. A special mention needs to go to dietitian, Lloyd Roberts, who was responsible for entering the screening surveys onto the BAPEN portal.

“As well as contributing to a significant UK wide survey, we also now have meaningful local data for us to use to plan and improve our service around.

“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. Our aim is to support people to prevent malnutrition, and to detect and address malnutrition problems early.”