Nil by Mouth signs should include date and time the fasting started

Sadly, news reports reveal that some patients have been denied food and drink for days because their operation has been delayed and no one realised the 'nil by mouth' sign was still in place.

If a date and time were clearly added to the sign, medical staff, other patients and visitors etc would, hopefully, notice how long the sign had been in place and query any delay. All too often, shift changes etc mean that sometimes, hopefully rarely, patients with communication problems are 'starved, unnecessarily', for many hours and no one realises.

Jill