One of the busiest hospitals in the country has launched a new campaign aimed at combating malnutrition.

Malnutrition refers to under-nutrition that affects a person's health and wellbeing. It can come about if the body cannot use food properly, which can lead to a person losing weight and developing nutritional deficiencies. Certain diseases can also lead to appetite suppression.

One in four patients who currently present at hospitals in Ireland are thought to be malnourished and those affected have a much higher risk of infection. They also tend to require longer stays in hospital, they have a greater risk of needing to being readmitted to hospital and they have a higher risk of death.

In an effort to tackle this, Tallaght Hospital in Dublin has launched the Good Nutrition and Hydration Campaign. This involves a multidisciplinary team visiting every ward of the hospital this week in an attempt to educate patients and staff about this serious health issue.

"Malnutrition is far too common among patients who present at the hospital and we hope that our proactive approach to providing more information in an engaging and accessible way will help to reduce the occurrence of this condition," commented Darragh Fahey, the hospital's director of quality, safety and risk management.

The campaign, which runs until May 26, is being overseen by the hospital's Nutrition and Dietetics Department and its Nutrition Steering Committee.

"It is great to see the enthusiasm of my colleagues in not only seeking to make this campaign a reality, but also to make it a great success. We want to make a difference in our patients' lives and to ensure that rates of malnutrition fall," commented the department's manager, Sinead Feehan.