2026-002514
- Date of request
- 20 October 2026
- Date of response
- 09 November 2026
- Children
- Conditions and diseases
- Population health
Request
Public Health Scotland version
Subject: Freedom of Information request: paediatric malnutrition admissions in Scotland
Dear Freedom of Information Officer,
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I am requesting the following information held by Public Health Scotland, drawn from SMR01 (general acute inpatient and day case) data:
The number of children admitted to hospital in Scotland for treatment of malnutrition in each quarter since 1 January 2026, broken down as:
Q1: 1 January – 31 March 2026
Q2: 1 April – 30 June 2026
Q3: 1 July – 30 September 2026
Q4 (part): 1 October 2026 – the most recent date for which data is available The number of children admitted to hospital in Scotland for treatment of malnutrition between 22 December 2025 and 5 January 2026 inclusive.
For both questions, please give the number of individual patients and the total number of admissions. Please give a Scotland total and a breakdown by NHS board of residence.
Definitions
“Children” means patients aged 0–15 at the date of admission. “Malnutrition” means an episode with an ICD-10 code in the range E40–E46 recorded in any diagnostic position. If possible, please show separately the figures where malnutrition is the primary diagnosis.
Please exclude any admission where an ICD-10 code in the range F50 (eating disorders) is recorded in any diagnostic position.
Data completeness
If SMR01 data for recent months is incomplete or provisional, please supply what is held and indicate which periods are affected and the approximate level of completeness.
Small numbers
If any figures are suppressed under your statistical disclosure control policy or section 38, please report them as “fewer than 5” (or your standard threshold) rather than omitting them. Please still provide the Scotland total.
Cost limit
If you think answering would exceed the section 12 cost limit, please explain under your section 15 duty to advise and assist how I could narrow the request. For example, the board-level breakdown could be dropped while the Scotland totals are kept.
I would prefer the information as a spreadsheet.