Starvation and undernourishment caused 162 people to be admitted to hospitals in Central Manchester and Salford last year, MM can reveal
In the last 12 months, 47 adults were admitted to Manchester Royal Infirmary suffering from the effects of malnourishment, statistics obtained by an FOI submitted by MM show.
Similarly, 13 malnourished adults were admitted to Trafford General Hospital, while nine children were admitted to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in the same condition.
In Salford the statistics were just as alarming, with 93 people admitted to hospitals belonging to Salford Royal Foundation Trust.
The statistics focus on starvation and malnourishment rather than eating disorders.
The shocking findings come only a week after a recent poverty report showed how Manchester lagged behind the rest of Great Britain in terms of tackling poverty.
A recent University of Manchester report found that one in four children live below the poverty line in Manchester.
In addition, the alarming results of the ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry Report on Hunger and Food Poverty’ this week led to the Archbishop of Canterbury expressing his dismay at the situation.
Archbishop Justin Welby backed a report which urged the government to confront the ‘simple but devastating fact that hunger stalks this country’.
Director of Church Action on Poverty, Niall Cooper, said: “It is no longer possible to deny the scale of the problem nor the many and complex reasons for it – including chronic low pay, benefit problems and benefit sanctions.”
According to Manchester Food Poverty, 15% of people in Greater Manchester skip meals because they do not have enough money to spend on food.
Image courtesy of Globalx, with thanks.
