Improving the nutritional status of colorectal surgical and stoma patients.

This article describes an initiative to improve the quality of nutritional support and information provision to patients undergoing colorectal surgery and stoma formation. It was identified that several aspects of the established hospital routine and catering system overlooked the specific nutritional needs of this group of patients during the postoperative period. This led to the formation of a multidisciplinary strategy group responsible for focusing on the nutritional needs of both those with new stomas and those undergoing colorectal surgery without stoma formation. To ensure that patients had the opportunity to eat suitable foods at regular intervals, a 'colorectal patients' snackbox' was introduced, together with a strategy for individualized nutritional support and advice before admission and on discharge.