5 principles to ensure food hygiene and safety

Posted by Dr. Ho Thu Mai - Head of Nutrition Department, Vinmec Times City International Hospital

Malnutrition in all forms affects many functions of the body as well as the results of disease treatment. Approximately one-third of hospitalized patients are malnourished. Therefore, screening and assessing the nutritional status of patients before hospital admission plays a very important role.

Malnutrition adversely affects the outcome of disease treatment. Malnutrition increases the risk of pressure ulcers 2 times, wound infection 3 times higher than patients with normal nutritional status. 45% of patients who fall in the hospital are malnourished, and malnutrition increases the patient's risk of re-hospitalization.
Therefore, nutritional care in the hospital contributes positively to patient outcomes and costs. Good nutritional status reduced the risk of re-hospitalization by 28%, the mean 2 days of treatment, the 25% reduction in pressure ulcers, and the 14% reduction in complications.

It is necessary to screen and assess nutritional status for all patients immediately upon admission to classify and early nutritional intervention for patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Depending on the condition and condition of the disease, there are appropriate nutritional interventions for each patient,
More than 50% of hospitalized patients do not eat all their portions. Therefore, in addition to building a suitable diet for each patient, counseling, guiding and encouraging patients to use the diet also plays a very important role. The attitude and way of communication of medical staff when taking care of patients' nutrition is very important to success.
Tips in nutritional care for the patient:
Build a reasonable meal time for each patient Help the patient to eat comfortably and easily Monitor the patient's meals Encourage and support the patient during a meal Monitor the patient's snack. If not appropriate, advise and guide the patient to change. Support IV or Sonde as soon as necessary Avoid interruption in patient nutrition for whatever reason Note and early detection of Undesirable signs occur during the rearing process. The ultimate goal of nutritional care in the hospital is to provide adequate nutrition, support disease treatment and improve nutritional status for patients.