A GRANT of more than £70,000 will help fund a hospital lunch club aimed at tackling undernourishment that can occur in the elderly and isolated.

Darlington Memorial Hospital has secured £73,000 to launch an innovative new project to help Darlington’s elderly following a competitive national bidding process.

The project, funded by The Health Foundation, will see elderly patients who are at risk of isolation and malnutrition offered the chance to attend regular lunch clubs later this year.

Those who take part will be given the opportunity to socialise with new friends while investing in their long-term health.

Project leader Catherine McShane, who leads the team at Darlington Memorial Hospital, spoke of the link between social isolation and malnutrition, and said the project will tackle both of these issues.

Patients who are referred to lunch clubs will have a nourishing meal and a chance to meet people in a similar situation to their own alongside access to specialist monitoring and dietary advice.

Ms McShane said: “There is strong evidence that once patients are aware they may need to eat more, and perhaps different, food, and become involved in monitoring themselves, improvements follow.

“Our colleagues in the community are able to identify and support vulnerable patients but this project will offer another level of on-going help.”

The clubs will be particularly useful to older people throughout the winter, who may otherwise be left vulnerable to illness and infection which can be avoided through a healthy, well-balanced diet.

A number of factors can lead to undernutrition, and elderly people in particular are affected by issues such as low income, or recovery from a previous illness which impacts on ability to eat or enjoy food.

By providing information about these issues, Ms McShane hopes to inspire Darlington’s elderly to expand and improve their diet independently, alongside the assistance and support provided by the lunch clubs.

Planning for the project is still in the early stages, but Ms McShane said that she and her team were ‘very excited’ about getting things up and running.

Ian Dove, a business development manager for County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, thanked The Health Foundation for the grant.

He said: “We’re very grateful to The Health Foundation for awarding funding to this project and recognising its huge opportunities.’

Mr Dove also spoke of the role of Age UK Darlington in the project.

He said: “We’re also grateful to Age UK Darlington for sharing with us their expertise in running lunch clubs.”