Fewer admissions for malnutrition in Bucks over past year, new figures show
New figures have shown a reduction in admissions for malnutrition to Buckinghamshire Healthcare in the year to March.
This goes against the national trend of cases rising in England, with more than 10,000 admissions for a fourth year in a row over the past 12 months nationally.
NHS England figures reveal that there were around 25 admissions for malnutrition last year at Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust premises, a fall from 35 the previous year.
The figures, which are rounded to the nearest five, cover a range of conditions including dietary issues, and problems with absorbing nutrients or eating normally.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said there is a well-established link between access to fresh and healthy food and better physical health.
"A poor diet increases a patient’s risk of developing a range of nutritional diseases - malnutrition, rickets, scurvy, iron, vitamin and folate deficiencies, all of which are becoming increasingly common," she said.
"In addition, they can also exacerbate chronic conditions a patient may already have," the Professor added.
Professor Hawthorne suggested hospital admissions were only "the tip of the iceberg" and recommended the Government take a preventative approach to support people's health and ease pressure on the National Health Service.
Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said healthy food is often the first thing cut for families struggling financially.
"We are calling on the Government to ensure that everyone can afford and access a healthy diet that will keep them well, and in doing so achieve the Government’s ambitions to make our children healthier, relieve pressure on the NHS and grow the economy," she said.
England has seen more than 10,000 admissions for malnutrition in every year since the start of the pandemic, although last year saw a slight fall to 10,728 admissions.
A decade earlier the country saw 6,616 admissions, while in 2010-2011 - the earliest available figures - admissions were less than half of what they were in 2023-2024.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "It is shocking that so many people are being admitted to hospital for malnutrition, and further proof of the dire inheritance of this Government.
"Our 10-Year Health Plan will tackle these stark health inequalities by shifting care out of the hospital into the community and supporting people to live longer, healthier lives."