Revised standards for hospital food are to be introduced across Scotland, including improved inspections and specific guidelines for children’s food.
The standards have been drawn up by NHS National Services Scotland with the help of experts in the field of diet and nutrition. The document is out to consultation until the end of June and will be introduced later this year.
Once introduced, the Scottish Government plans to consult on whether to make the guidelines legally binding. Scotland would become the first country in the UK to place nutrition standards for hospital food on a statutory footing.
Scotland already has a rigorous set of standards for hospital food and nutrition. The new guidelines are a refreshed version of these standards, Food in Hospitals, that were introduced in 2008. They will help caterers to make sure meals contain all the nutrients needed to help recovery. The guidelines set out a number of improvements in key areas.
Under the new guidelines each ward would have to carry out at least two audits per year to make sure food is of good quality, and being served in the right way. These will be backed up by at least one independent peer review audit each year. The purpose of these reviews is to ensure that the meals are well presented, sufficiently hot, and served at an appropriate time when patients are ready to eat.
Following feedback from the Action for Sick Kids Hospital Food Survey 2014, a new section has also been developed to cover food in children’s hospitals and wards. This includes nutrition standards for specific children’s age groups, and guidance on portion sizes and appropriate kitchenware.
An updated set of food, fluid and nutritional care standards, introduced by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in October 2014, is included in the new guidance to help ensure that hospital food provision is part of a broader approach to ensuing good nutritional care for patients.
The new guidance also highlights the need for hospital catering to work towards the Scottish Government’s wider ambition to become a Good Food Nation by 2025. This means more consideration being given to fresh, wholesome and locally sourced produce.
There is also specific guidance on allergens for the first time, so that caterers know how to code their menus correctly.
Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said:
“Scotland already has a strong set of nutritional standards in place for hospital food. However, we keep a close eye on what patients are telling us, so we know that sometimes the meals that patients receive on the ward are not always as good as they should be.
“These new guidelines place a greater emphasis on audits of meals, so we can ensure that meals are tasty, nutritious, the right temperature, and served at the right times. I’m also pleased to see a specific section on children’s catering for the first time.
“Our ambition is to consult on whether to make these new nutrition guidelines legally binding, to ensure that these standards are maintained. Patients should have a right to expect high quality and nutritious food that meets their specific needs and aids recovery. A good diet is the building block to a healthy life, and I want to see our hospitals continue to lead by example.”
Background:
The Food in Hospitals guidance was first published in 2008, when Scotland became the first country in the UK to introduce such guidance. This document is an update to that guidance.
National Services Scotland has drawn on evidence and research from expert organisations including Food Standards Scotland, nutrition charity BAPEN and the British Dietetic Association.
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