ONE in three patients who needs help eating while in hospital does not receive regular assistance, exacerbating the growing problem of malnutrition in the NHS, research has revealed.

A study involving more than 80,000 patients who have stayed overnight in hospitals shows that a large number of those dependent on nurses and other carers at meal times are not receiving adequate help.

A fifth of participants in the survey, compiled by the Healthcare Commission, said that they required assistance with eating. Of these almost 40 per cent — more than 6,000 people — said that they never, or only sometimes, received that help.

The Government said last year that more than 17 million meals were being thrown away untouched in Britain’s hospitals every year — an increase of almost 50 per cent since 2002. About 40 per cent of patients admitted to hospital have malnutrition. More than half lose weight or become undernourished while in care.

The Healthcare Commission’s findings, published in their survey of all 169 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England, come weeks after it emerged that a £40 million government programme to improve hospital food, endorsed by the food critic Loyd Grossman, has been abandoned.

Andy Burnham, the Health Minister, said: “The comments from patients who are admitted to the NHS highlight that this is a high-quality service, not a service in crisis. But we still have a lot of work to do to provide a truly patient-led system.”

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