Nutrition and Dietetics service retains top nutritional screeners award

21 March 2025

For the fourth year running, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s (UHB) nutrition and dietetics service, in collaboration with community-based frailty nurses and Therapy Assistant Practitioners, has received high praise for its work during 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 & dietetic team organised the screening survey on hospital wards and community settings. 

Having collected the highest number of surveys, the Carmarthenshire team, co-ordinated and led by Thomas Cooze a specialist dietitian within the Intermediate Care 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 supported the survey again this year, highlighting the Health Boards 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 focus our services with the aim of identifying and preventing malnutrition sooner”.