We have a Nutrition Support Nurse based at CRH who provides advice and support for inpatients receiving artificial nutrition. Fiona is acute based only.

 

The Nutrition Support Nurse is mainly involved with patients who are unable to eat or drink normally and require special feeding tubes to receive liquid nutrition which is prescribed by a dietitian.

 

The Nutrition Support Nurse is involved in any of the following tasks:

 

• Assessment of patients for a variety of special feeding tubes.

• Explain to patients, relatives and carers how tubes are inserted and the risk and benefits associated with insertion to enable an informed decision to be made.

• Ensuring patients, relatives and carers fully understand the impact a feeding tube can have on daily life, and the after care requirements associated with them.

• Support patients to look after their own tubes if they are getting discharged to their own home.

• Educate ward staff how to look after patients with feeding tubes as they are the first point of contact for any problems that arise with the tubes.

• Resolve any problems with tubes.

• Support ward staff to carry out screening for malnutrition.

• Work closely with dieticians and other multi disciplinary team members to ensure optimum care is provided to our patients.