Clinical Nutrition
Clinical focus
The primary focus of the Department is the screening, assessment and counseling of all patients admitted here. All the patients admitted both at the medical center and the Hosptial of SRU are screened/assessed to on their nutritional status and medical nutrition therapy offered either in the form of individualized counselling or offered specialized nutrition support depending on the case. Nutrition intervention is initiated for those patients who are identified to be ‘nutritionally at risk’. The faculties are posted in various wards for the appropriate implementation of medical nutrition therapy in the specialties such as
- General medicine
- General surgery
- Paediatrics
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Orthopaedics
- Nephrology
- Vidhyasudha (children with special needs)
- Intensive care unit of all specialties
Every patient is given an individualized diet chart at the time of discharge. Patients receive encouraged to come for follow up at the Outpatient department.
Outpatient counseling:
The outpatient clinic functions regularly at the outpatient block between 8 am – 12.30 pm. Individualized nutrition counseling is provided to the patients. Food models and charts are used for effective diet counseling. An individualized diet chart is given to the patient at the end of each counseling session. Patients are encouraged to come for regular follow up.
The special children in VidyaSudha are assessed for their nutritional status and the parents are counselled regarding their food intake, feeding techniques and nutrition principles. This is done twice a week as a part of the clinical work.
Infants and children less than 5 years and with cleft lip and palate are assessed and necessary nutritional intervention is provided to the mothers regarding feeding practices and counselling on supplementary feeding. This is done as a part of the routine clinics in the general op, growth clinic and cleft lip OP (Smile Train Project).
The department is also an active member of the “Karthikeyan Child Development Unit” developed as an Early Stimulation Program, by the department of Neonatology and caters to the nutritional and growth requirements of term and preterm infants as a continuous follow up.
