Hundreds of older patients being treated at NUH will benefit from the muscle-building and protein enhanced ice cream. Malnutrition costs the NHS an estimated £20 billion a year.
Nottingham Hospitals Charity has agreed to fund up to £4,800 towards providing six mini freezers to store the ice cream and supplies of N-ICE Cream, which comes in four flavours – vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel and mint.
Professor Opinder Sahota, consultant in ortho-geriatric medicine at NUH, said: “We are delighted to be able to make N-ICE Cream widely available at last to some of the most vulnerable patients who are treated at our hospitals and help these patients avoid malnutrition, which is a major cause and consequence of ill health among the elderly.
“While the recent hot weather in the UK will have turned the public’s thoughts to ice cream as a cooling treat, N-ICE Cream has a more serious purpose. This product has been specifically developed as a nutritious muscle targeted high protein ice cream, which has been designed to address the serious problem of malnutrition and muscle weakness among older people.”
Ice cream has been shown to be an effective vehicle for energy and nutrient delivery in older people, as many patients staying on the hospital wards enjoy eating it.