Despite the costs of organising nutrition support teams in hospitals, Essay

Despite the costs of organising nutrition support teams in hospitals, there is an overall saving in health care cost - Essay Example The nutritional support team provides artificial nutrition and maintains itself as the supreme source of evidence-based information about nutritional assessment and support. It audits practical standards of care and organizes ways to nutritional screening, monitoring, and assessment for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Nutritional Support Team also assesses different feeding routes and advises on alternative treatment options. Nutritional Support Team activities contribute to a shorter hospital stay, lower mortality rate, improved nutrition, and reduced complications (IrSPEN, 2013; Tan Tock Seng Hospital Nutrition and Dietetics Department 2015). Therefore, Nutritional Support Team decreases complications and healthcare costs through reductions in unrequited treatments and prevention of complications. Organizing of nutritional support teams incurs several costs. The costs are incurred in the clinicians or departments involved in the provision of adequate nutrition for patients. First, we have the catering staff. It is concerned with providing sufficient quantities of quality food to limit the unnecessary use of nutrition support. Patients who cannot feed on their receive food in a favorable environment. Therefore, there is spending of much cash in the provision of quality food and maintaining a healthy environment. Secondly, there are the dietitians who are concerned with the provision of nutritional support for patients who are unable to derive adequate nourishment from food. Dietitians provide nutritional screening and assessment, together with the stipulation of supplementary through oral, parenteral, and enteral routes to patients undergoing malnutrition. However, it is expensive to maintain the dietitians hence many finances spent. Third, the ward nurses look after the patients, undertake screening process, and instigate associated care pathways. They ensure