Charity support for protein enhanced Nottingham ice cream  | Research News and Media

A new innovation in nutrition developed by clinicians at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) will be available to older patients this summer, thanks to funding from Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

Hundreds of older patients being treated at NUH will benefit from the multi award-winning muscle-building, protein enhanced ice cream developed through research led by the clinical team on the Healthcare of the Older Person wards.

Malnutrition costs the NHS an estimated £20 billion a year. And while hospital food is nutritious, many older patients find it hard to eat while staying on the wards and often do not like the alternative of high protein oral nutritional supplement drinks.

Now Nottingham Hospitals Charity has agreed to fund up to £4,800 towards providing six mini freezers to store the ice cream, and supplies of N-ICE Cream®, which comes in four flavours – vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel and mint.

Professor Opinder Sahota, Consultant in ortho-geriatric medicine at NUH, who has driven the N-ICE Cream® project said:

“We are delighted to be able to make N-ICE Cream® widely available at last to some of the most vulnerable patients who are treated at our hospitals and help these patients avoid malnutrition, which is a major cause and consequence of ill health among the elderly.

“Our team would like to thank the Nottingham Hospitals Charity for their generous support with this project, which has enabled us to move N-ICE Cream® from being a research study to a nutritional supplement product that is routinely offered to patients on our wards.”

He added: “While the recent hot weather in the UK will have turned the public’s thoughts to ice cream as a cooling treat, N-ICE Cream® has a more serious purpose.

“This product has been specifically developed as a nutritious muscle targeted high protein ice cream, which has been designed to address the serious problem of malnutrition and muscle weakness among older people.”

Nigel Gregory, Chief Executive of Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: "We know that nutrition can be a challenge when caring for older patients, and we were very interested to learn about this innovative product which has been developed here at Nottingham's hospitals.

“Thanks to our donors, we're pleased to be able to fund supplies of N-ICE Cream®, and mini freezers for its storage, to help keep older patients nourished over the summer months."

Ice cream has been shown to be an effective vehicle for energy/nutrient delivery in older people, as many patients staying on the hospital wards enjoy eating it.

N-ICE Cream® been tested and developed over several years by researchers in Nottingham and its effectiveness is back by peer review. It is manufactured for NUH by Matlock Meadows Dairy Farm in Derbyshire, a family run dairy farm.

The product was also received five external awards in an 18-month period including awards for NHS innovation and innovation in within the dairy food sector, with N-ICE Cream® increasingly becoming recognised for its innovation and impact beyond the NHS.