Cases of malnutrition and other “Victorian” diseases are soaring in England, malnutrition being the worst.
NHS statistics show over 7,300 people were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition between August 2014 and July this year, a rise of more than 50 per cent in just four years.
The Trussell Trust, which runs a nationwide network of foodbanks, reported tens of thousands of people have been going hungry, missing meals and cutting back on the quality of the food they buy.
The Malnutrition Task Force, and the charity Age UK, said the rise in hospital admissions for malnutrition was deeply distressing.
A spokesperson said, “Older people and professionals often incorrectly assume that losing weight and having a reduced appetite are just a normal part of ageing. Much malnutrition is preventable, so it is totally unacceptable that estimates suggest there are at least one million older people malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. Cuts to social care mean many older people are being left to cope on their own.”
Since 2010, cases of other diseases rife in the Victorian era including scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough have also increased, although cases of TB, measles, typhoid and rickets have fallen.
And yet, parts of London have higher rates of tuberculosis than Rwanda or Iraq, according to a report by the London Assembly.
One in three boroughs in the capital suffer from high rates of TB, with more than 40 cases per 100,000 people. Prisoners, homeless people, substance abusers and migrants are particularly at risk, according to the report. Source: The Independent.
My husband and I are facing money worries as we age. While we were working, we ate well. Now, we cut costs wherever we can just to scrape together a nutritious meal.
General price rises apply to everything—food, power, heat and rent to name a few.
Most elderly English people have paid into the national pension fund through their wages for their whole life, expecting to live well after they retire. But costs are rising and the rate of the Government pension is not in line with everything else. Even my service provider is charging me extra for basic broadband, and now bills me, if I use more than the allowable quota, for any pictures I download to use for this blog.
So, I'm cutting costs today—hence no illustration. I'll paint a word picture instead. Envisage hospital waiting rooms. Under bright lights, skinny old men and women are seated in rows of chairs with hopeless expressions on their wizened faces.
Do you know somebody who might be at risk of malnutrition?
NHS statistics show over 7,300 people were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition between August 2014 and July this year, a rise of more than 50 per cent in just four years.
The Trussell Trust, which runs a nationwide network of foodbanks, reported tens of thousands of people have been going hungry, missing meals and cutting back on the quality of the food they buy.
The Malnutrition Task Force, and the charity Age UK, said the rise in hospital admissions for malnutrition was deeply distressing.
A spokesperson said, “Older people and professionals often incorrectly assume that losing weight and having a reduced appetite are just a normal part of ageing. Much malnutrition is preventable, so it is totally unacceptable that estimates suggest there are at least one million older people malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. Cuts to social care mean many older people are being left to cope on their own.”
Since 2010, cases of other diseases rife in the Victorian era including scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough have also increased, although cases of TB, measles, typhoid and rickets have fallen.
And yet, parts of London have higher rates of tuberculosis than Rwanda or Iraq, according to a report by the London Assembly.
One in three boroughs in the capital suffer from high rates of TB, with more than 40 cases per 100,000 people. Prisoners, homeless people, substance abusers and migrants are particularly at risk, according to the report. Source: The Independent.
My husband and I are facing money worries as we age. While we were working, we ate well. Now, we cut costs wherever we can just to scrape together a nutritious meal.
General price rises apply to everything—food, power, heat and rent to name a few.
Most elderly English people have paid into the national pension fund through their wages for their whole life, expecting to live well after they retire. But costs are rising and the rate of the Government pension is not in line with everything else. Even my service provider is charging me extra for basic broadband, and now bills me, if I use more than the allowable quota, for any pictures I download to use for this blog.
So, I'm cutting costs today—hence no illustration. I'll paint a word picture instead. Envisage hospital waiting rooms. Under bright lights, skinny old men and women are seated in rows of chairs with hopeless expressions on their wizened faces.
Do you know somebody who might be at risk of malnutrition?
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