FOI/2025/26/153

Request

The request relates to home enteral tube feeding, which is a way of providing nutrition to people who can't eat and drink normally. Dietitians within your organisation will likely be best placed to help with this information request.

 

1.      Does your organisation provide care to individuals aged 0-25 who may use home enteral feeding tubes? Yes/No

2.      How many patients has your organisation provided dietetic care for home enteral tube feeding between 01-01-2023-31-12-2024?

a.      Divided into the following age categories: 0-18, 18-25, 25+ (age when they joined the caseload or age on 01-01-23 if they were on the caseload throughout this period).

b.      If possible, please provide caseload numbers by age (e.g.

3.      Of these, how many individuals use a blended diet*?

a.      Divided in the following age categories: 0-18, 18-25, 25+

b.      If possible, please provide caseload numbers by age (e.g.

4.      Does your organisation have the following:

a.      Local blended diet policy – Acute setting (Yes/No)

b.      Local blended diet policy – Community setting (Yes/No)

c.      Blended diet guideline (Yes/No)

d.      Blended diet standard operating guideline or procedure (Yes/No)

e.      Blended diet training package (Yes/No)

f.        If yes to 4a-4e, please provide a copy.

5.      Are any staff employed by your organisation in roles funded by income provided by an enteral feeding provider (e.g. Nutricia, Abbott)?

a.      If yes, please state number of posts (whole time equivalent) and Agenda for Change banding.

b.       

*A blended diet is the use of everyday foods blended to a puree and given via an enteral feeding tube. This may be used exclusively or in combination with commercial formula.

 

Please could this be provided in Excel format. I have attached a template for your convenience. Any other electronic format would be welcome.

This information is being requested as part of a research project to understand the scale of blended diet use in the UK

 

Response

Please see attached is our responses for each of our divisional services along with BDA diet toolkit used for guidance.