Enternal nutrition in the community setting

Abstract

The practice of tube feeding patients outside the acute hospital setting has existed in Ireland for over a decade. Anecdotal evidence (mainly from hospital dietitians) suggested that the care services for these patients were inadequate and the subject of home enteral tube feeding required examination. A small pilot survey of patients on tube feeding in nursing homes in Dublin suggested that there was a lack of co-ordination and organisation of the practice of community-based enteral tube feeding. The aim of this work was to investigate enteral tube feeding in Dublin in the community setting from the perspective of patients’ and the health care professions.