Conclusion
There are a number of problems within current nursing
practice during mealtimes in relation to older patients’ eating.
Nutrition appeared to receive a very low priority in the ward
in terms of nursing practices and nurses’ assistance was
insufficient and came late. In order to improve nurses’
practices at meal times, simply increasing staff numbers may
be not enough, we probably need to consider education to
change or refocus nurses’ attitudes and perceptions about the
importance of nutrition.
Interview data is in agreement with observation data. One
interviewed nurse said:
The kitchen girls come with the trolley and they put the meal in front
of the patient, but they don’t do anything else. They put it there and
leave it there.