On a busy ward it is easy to miss what patients have eaten at every mealtime. even if you ask them you may not get enough information to judge their intake accurately. yet the consequences of poor intake on an individual's health and wellbeing are well known. it is estimated that four out of ten older patients arrive in hospital malnourished and six out of ten are at risk of becoming malnourished or their situation worsening during their stay ( age Concern 2006 ).