Malnutrition affects roughly one in three residents arriving in care homes, and it is routinely missed because weight loss is gradual and meal intake goes unrecorded. Screening turns that slow drift into a visible, actionable number.
The standard instrument is MUST (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool): BMI, unintentional weight loss, and acute illness effect, combined into a risk score that maps to actions. The tool is simple; the operational challenge is running it reliably for every resident, every month, with staff turnover.
The screening cycle that works
Reliability comes from making screening an automatic calendar event rather than a memory task, and from recording the data screening depends on (weights, intake) as routine care.
- Screen within 24 to 72 hours of admission, then monthly
- Weigh residents on a fixed schedule; weight history drives the score
- Record meal intake proportions so decline is visible between screenings
- Map each risk level to a defined action: monitor, fortify, refer to dietitian
Between screenings is where residents slip
A resident can eat progressively less for three weeks before the next screening captures it as weight loss. Daily intake records with alerts on sustained decline close that gap, and they give the visiting dietitian evidence instead of anecdote.
Running screening in ProNutriBase
- 1
Maintain resident profiles
Each resident’s weights, measurements, allergies, and dietary requirements live on one record your whole team shares.
- 2
Log weights and meal intake as routine care
Care staff record weights and how much of each meal was eaten in seconds; the history builds itself.
- 3
Get compliance alerts
Automatic alerts flag sustained intake decline, missed weigh-ins, and residents due for rescreening, so nothing depends on memory.
- 4
Report to the care team
Generate per-resident nutrition reports for GP visits, dietitian referrals, and inspections from the recorded data.
Frequently asked questions
How often should care home residents be screened for malnutrition?
On admission and then monthly is the widely used standard, with immediate rescreening after acute illness, hospitalization, or visible intake decline.
What is the MUST score?
MUST combines BMI, unintentional weight loss over 3 to 6 months, and acute disease effect into a score of 0 (low risk), 1 (medium), or 2+ (high), each mapped to defined actions from routine monitoring to dietitian referral.
What records support malnutrition screening?
Regular weights, meal intake records, and dietary requirement documentation. Digital records make trends visible early and produce inspection-ready evidence without extra paperwork.