Gerwyn Thomas
6 Nov 2018 · Coroner Jonathan Layton · Camarthenshire and Pembrokeshire
The coroner's concerns
1. insufficient staffing in acute diatetic service
“The acute diatetic service lacks sufficient staff to respond to referrals in a timely 1 way”
2. inadequate training in nutritional assessment diagnostic tool
“The use of the diagnostic tool to assess a patient's nutritional need, which nursing staff apply when a patient is admitted, requires training. When wrongly applied, this diagnostic tool will give an unreliable assessment”
3. failure to act on referrals and lack of multidisciplinary discussion
“When a treating doctor identifies a need for a patient to be referred to the acute diatetic service, nursing staff should act upon this referral and in circumstances where nursing staff believe that such a referral is unnecessary this should be discussed at a multi-disciplinary team meeting”