Stop playing politics and put people first

Just as everyone shakes off their post-Christmas blues and post-New Year hangovers, spare a thought for poor Yvonne Slater. The 84-year-old pensioner was turfed out of Hereford County Hospital in her nightdress at 3am on New Year’s Day and told to make her own way home. The 25-mile taxi journey cost her £80. Not much to celebrate there.

Meanwhile, a few days later it was claimed by the Tories that 140,000 patients were discharged after being badly fed on NHS wards last year. Moreover, the number of people suffering malnutrition or other nutritional deficiencies increased to 139,000 last year from 74,000 in 1997. Given that health and the NHS is such as political hot potato, it’s probably wise to be careful of figures being bandied around by the conservatives. Nevertheless, even the Department of Health figures for last year showed that the nutritional condition of 8,500 patients actually worsened while in hospital.

Frankly, whatever the argument over the figures, this is clearly a serious health issue that has to be addressed, pronto. Given that the NHS is in many respects a service for the elderly, and that the link between decent nutrition and recovery in older people seems so obvious, the idea of healthy eating is absolutely crucial to good nursing and to the recovery of so many older patients.

Just last week care minister Ivan Lewis spoke of New Labour revolutionising social care during its tenure in office. In the same breath he also told the press that 2008 would be the year of a government drive to make sure that “every older person matters”.

It’s about time politicians stopped playing political oneupmanship and “put people first, politics last”. Now there’s a good campaign slogan for the year ahead Mr Lewis.