Poor Standards of Artificial Nutrition for Sick Babies and Adults
A recent enquiry has highlighted that there are major deficiencies in the way that hospitals provide artificial nutrition to sick babies and adults.
Artificial feeding tubes are used widely in the NHS where patients cannot digest food through their gut as a result of disease or surgery, or used for babies whose systems are not mature enough.
The aim of artificial feeding is to provide key nutrients to a patient by pumping liquid from a bag directly into the patient’s vein.
The report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) looked at more than 1,000 cases of artificial nutrition in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and identified that there were problems in three quarters of the cases it examined.
Moreover, the report identified that only one in five patients was judged to have had “good” care.
The findings show that staff often forget to calculate the nutrition needed, or fail altogether to realise when a patient needs a feeding tube. Many adults are not given a sufficient amount of calories, whilst premature babies were not always given the sustenance they needed. The report also found that in almost a third of adult cases, artificial feeding was being given, where other forms of feeding via the gut were possible thereby putting patients at risk unnecessarily.
If not administered properly, intravenous feeding can cause fatal problems from failure to take in enough calories and vitamins to blood poisoning.
Partner and head of Lanyon Bowdler's Clinical Negligence department Paula Nash described the report as “disturbing”. “Patients receiving artificial nutrition are often the most vulnerable. Clearly once again improvements to patient care are needed.”