R28 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Nutritional screening

Recommendation

Health Boards should ensure that all patients have their nutritional status screened on admission to a ward using a recognised nutritional screening tool.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Scottish Government, this recommendation was accepted, acknowledging past issues with nutritional status assessment and recording. According to Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), National Food Fluid and Nutritional Care Standards have been published, and according to the Excellence in Care CAIR Dashboard, nutritional screening measures are now included, monitoring compliance across all NHS Scotland boards; furthermore, according to the available evidence, no further published evidence has been identified since 2025.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.gov.scot, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 4.1 of the Scottish Government's response acknowledges the report's criticisms of specific elements of nursing care, including the unsatisfactory assessment and recording of patients' nutritional status. The government unreservedly accepts in full the report's recommendations relating to nursing care and recognises the identified system and individual failures. It expresses high confidence in the NHS nursing workforce and highlights support initiatives for nursing introduced in recent years, which aim to uphold high standards of care.

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Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Good Progress
01 Jan 2025
Healthcare Improvement Scotland Other

Excellence in Care CAIR Dashboard includes nutritional screening measures. National Food Fluid and Nutritional Care Standards published by HIS.

View detailed findings

Nutritional screening on admission is monitored through the CAIR Dashboard as part of fundamentals of care.

Excellence in Care CAIR Dashboard - nutrition mea… View Source
Source
Inquiry Vale of Leven Inquiry
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS Health Boards (Scotland) Primary
Themes & Tags
Care risk assessment failures Care plan failures Care home nutritional choice Nutrition Nursing
Recommendation age 11.3 yrs
Last formal update 3932 days ago