James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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363. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for the roll-out of a mandatory nutritional screening programme in the community setting; his views on the benefits of nutritional screening in the community setting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23268/18]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Nutritional screening is a first-line process of identifying patients who are already malnourished or at risk of becoming so; nutritional assessment is a detailed investigation to identify and quantify specific nutritional problems.

Good nutrition is fundamental for health, healing and recovery from illness and injury. Malnutrition is associated with muscle wasting, impaired respiratory and cardiac function, decreased mobility, susceptibility to infection and delayed wound healing, depression and lethargy. Many factors including disease predispose to malnourishment and indicators of malnutrition are found in community patients.

The Health Service Executive has a nutrition screening programme in place in the community and I am referring your question to HSE for further details.