Do protected mealtimes improve inpatient glycaemic control?

Malnutrition remains a significant problem in people admitted to hospital; to tackle this issue the NHS Institute of Innovation and Improvement have introduced a protected mealtimes (PRMT) initiative to provide patients with adequate nutrition. While PRMT is laudable, it does not specifically address the needs of people with diabetes admitted to hospital. This article describes a study that investigated the effect of implementation of PRMT on glycaemic control in people with diabetes on a specialist diabetes ward. The results showed that PRMT did not improve glycaemic control in this group of inpatients with diabetes; these key findings warrant provision of a model of care aimed at targeting glycaemic control, particularly in relation to the key principles of ThinkGlucose (NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, 2010).