Malnutrition Pathway Primary Care Network Portal
PCN RESOURCES HOME PAGE RESOURCES A-Z RETURN TO MAIN SITESocial Prescribers provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to help them to take control of their health and wellbeing, live independently and improve their health access and outcomes. They are well placed to discuss how patients are managing with accessing and preparing food as well as identify potential challenges. They can therefore assist in identifying individuals at risk of malnutrition and signposting them to appropriate services.
There are several useful resources available both to assist Social Prescribers in identifying malnutrition risk and also to assist them in initiating conversations about diet:
What help can you provide?
The Malnutrition Pathway has a number of useful leaflets that can be given to patients:GREEN: Eating Well for those at low risk of malnutrition; how to eat a balanced diet.
YELLOW: Your Guide to Making the Most of Your Food for those at medium risk of malnutrition; how to fortify foods.
RED: Nutrition Drinks (known as oral nutritional supplements) for those at high risk of malnutrition and who have been prescribed oral nutritional supplements. This leaflet gives advice on how best to incorporate oral nutritional supplements into the diet.
There are also specific leaflets for patients with COPD:
For those individuals who are experiencing symptoms that interfere with eating a number of tip sheets which give advice on how to manage eating with these symptoms are also available:
Reduced appetite, feeling full after eating small amounts, unexplained weight loss