Malnutrition in hospitals costing €1.5bn every year

ONE in four hospital patients are suffering from malnutrition, with the problem now costing the state almost €1.5 billion every year.

The inaugural conference of the Irish Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ISPEN) heard this is the equivalent of 10% of all public health expenditure, and is now more costly a problem to the state than obesity.

The conference was also told that malnourished patients are between two to three times more likely to die within six months.