Concern over nutrition training

Nutrition needs to be made a more important part of the doctor training system in the UK, a leading expert has said. Gastroenterologist Dr Penny Neild, who works at London's St George's Hospital, said training on how to spot and tackle malnutrition was "patchy". She said medical schools and junior doctor programs were focusing too much on the science of being a doctor rather than basic care. The issue of malnutrition has been a long-running concern in the NHS. Up to one in four patients may be at risk, research shows.

However, she accepted progress was being made. The introduction of nutrition in the first year of junior doctor training has only been rolled out in recent years, while the royal colleges are looking at devising a standardized curriculum for medical schools which may well have more emphasis on nutrition.