Commenting on figures which reveal a 13% increase in the number of people who left hospital malnourished, Shadow Health Minister, Stephen O'Brien said:
"These figures are a national embarrassment. They should shame the Labour Government into urgent action. But they won't.
“The Health Secretary has put improving the NHS on hold while yet another review of NHS services is conducted. That will take 11 months. Meanwhile, the Government's top down target driven culture is impeding hard-working NHS staff from assisting patients as they would like, and hundreds more patients are leaving hospital malnourished every year.
“It adds insult to injury that this scandal has wasted £34,591,000 of taxpayer’s money in the last year alone and £162,300,622 in total over the last five years, and at a time when hospital wards and beds are closing across the country because of financial concerns.
“Gordon Brown said the Labour Party would make the NHS a priority. They haven’t. Patients deserve better. Nutrition is as important as any other treatment and more cost-effective, tastier and wholesome foods are available, but the Government chooses to turn a blind eye them”.
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