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Originator: NHS Improvement

From: James Nicholls

Issue date: Originally issued on 27-Jun-2018 09:45:26. This version was issued on 27-Jun-2018 09:45:26

This alert has been issued to:
  • Care Trusts
  • Mental Health Trusts
  • Specialists Trusts
  • NHS Regional Offices
  • Learning Disabilities Trusts
  • Mental Health & Social Care Trusts
  • Ambulance Trusts
  • Mental Health & Learning Disabilities Trusts
  • Acute Trusts
  • Community Trusts

  • Other contacts
  • Independent Healthcare Providers (registered with CAS)
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • Social Care Providers (registered with CAS)
  • Special Health Authorities

Action category: Immediate Action

Title: Resources to support safer modification of food and drink

Broadcast content:

There continues to be local variation in the terminology used to describe the thickness of modified food for patients with dysphagia, as well as other patients requiring a modified food texture diet. This can lead to confusion for patients, carers and healthcare staff. Patient safety incidents have been reported where this has led to harm, particularly when the imprecise term ‘soft diet’ has been used.

This alert provides links to a range of resources to assist providers with the transition to the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) framework, introducing standard terminology to describe texture modification for food and drink, and to eliminate the use of imprecise terminology, including ‘soft diet’.

**Please note this is a reissue of the alert issued on 27 June. The only change is to the alert attachment, which had an incorrect issue date of 27 April 2018.**



Additional information: NHS regional teams, please cascade this alert to GPs and community pharmacies.

Alert reference: NHS/PSA/RE/2018/004

Action underway deadline: 02-Jul-2018

Action complete deadline: 01-Apr-2019

Attachments:

Contact our helpdesk

Email: safetyalerts@mhra.gov.uk

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency