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Health and Social Care Bill

The hon. Gentleman is right. The figures are set against an average decrease in the length of stay in hospital, so one wonders what is going on. In 2005, BAPEN published an economic analysis of the cost of disease-related malnutrition in the UK. The total cost was estimated to be £7.3 billion, with approximately £3.8 billion incurred in hospital and £2.8 billion in long-term facilities. I would have assumed that the Government would be keen to address that avoidable cost by putting in place some simple measures. We have all seen the programmes with undercover filming in geriatric wards and nursing homes, in which people are not helped to eat or given inappropriate food. Tackling the problem, and ensuring that there is a clear code of behaviour, would also address some of the human rights aspects of the issue. As the hon. Gentleman rightly pointed out, this is a human rights issue, because many elderly people are not getting the care and attention they deserve, however many dignity strategies the Government introduce. The conclusion of the article to which I was referring states:"““In the majority of inpatients, however, the most important single factor leading to malnutrition is probably loss of appetite and failure of intake.””" If someone is unable to eat for any reason, there are things that can be done to minimise the results. There is little detail behind the amendments, but they are well intentioned. I hope that they will find some favour with the Government, because the problem is real and avoidable. There are no targets to address it and it is too often overlooked.