AN OXFORD hospital will “strive” to ensure vulnerable patients are helped with food, after a damning report revealed basic nutrition standards were not being met.

But last night, the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital (ORH) NHS Trust said medical emergencies will always take priority.

The John Radcliffe Hospital has been ordered to improve its food and the way it is served, after an inspection by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May.

The damning report was published on Thursday.

Yesterday, it emerged Oxfordshire group Patient Voice had visited the hospital in February and discovered some patients with dementia who were unable to feed themselves, were not being given help.

The group also reported that a blind woman had an untouched tray of food removed because she had not been told by staff it was at the end of her bed.

The hospital said it had no record of that incident taking place as it was not reported at the time.

Chief nurse Elaine Strachan-Hall said the ORH had not received Patient Voice’s recommendations until after the CQC visit, but had acted to improve standards.

Ms Strachan- Hall said: “All staff are being reminded of the standards the trust expects in terms of supporting patients’ nutritional needs.”

She said while ORH nurses always strived to help feed patients on time, if it came down to a medical emergency, it would take priority.

She added: “Although it is a nursing responsibility to ensure that every patient receives adequate nutrition and hydration, and we want to make sure that all patients who need help with their food get to eat it while it is at an optimum temperature, there are occasions when there are multiple priorities for a nurse occurring at the same time – for instance, if there was another patient who required urgent attention.”

Since the inspections, the ORH said it has been making a number of improvements, including acting on recommendations by the CQC to improve the moist food menu.

It has also been reiterating its protected mealtimes policy, which stops nurses from carrying out ward rounds or giving out medicine while food is being served, unless it is in an emergency.

Ms Strachan Hall said: “The trust acknowledged that further improvements were required in the light of both the CQC report and the observations from the Patient Voice report, and is making sure that all nursing staff are fully aware of their responsibilities to assess all patients and assist those who need it.”

Paul Cann, chief executive of Age UK Oxfordshire, said the CQC’s spot checks were a positive step in the right direction, but added: “One in five people over the age of 80 are at risk of suffering from dementia.

“It is a serious cognitive disorder, that makes it all the more vital that care and attention is taken to help people eat and drink properly, and that extra efforts are made in hospitals with training, monitoring, and through using the red tray system.”

The ORH said there was a range of options available to staff such as offering alternative foods and encouraging dementia patients to eat little and often.

It also includes options such as high-calorie supplement drinks and in severe cases tube feeding.