Contents
Introduction
Background
Key Elements
1.Key Characteristics of Good Nutritional Care
2.Nutrition and Hydration for Patients
3.Healthier Eating for Staff and Visitors
4.Sustainable Procurement for Food and Catering Services
References/Bibliography
Related Trust Policies/Procedures
Introduction
In Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, we are committed to providing the best quality care possible for our patients and this includes the quality and nutritional value of the food that is served and eaten.
We also have a responsibility to provide wholesome, healthy and nutritious foodto our staff and visitors.
We know that there are strong links between staff experience and patient outcomes, so investing in having a healthy workforce will ultimately benefit patients.
We also have a wider social responsibility. As a major purchaser and provider of food and catering services, we have the opportunity to put sustainability at the heart of our work. This includes reducing waste, embedding high standards of food production and reducing our carbon footprint.
To achieve this we have developed our Food and Drink Strategy which aims to:
- Meet the nutritional and hydration needs of all patients and ensure an excellent experience.
- Ensure that the food and drinks offered meet the cultural and religious needs of our local population.
- Promote healthier eating for the whole hospital community including visitors and staff.
- Develop a Trust Eat Well, Think Well, Exercise Well programme for staff.
- Procure sustainable food and catering services.
Background
Our diet significantly affects our health. This is true for both over-nutrition (which can lead to obesity) and under-nutrition. Most malnutrition arises in the community, but once a patient is admitted, there is a great deal that we can do to hasten recovery with close attention to nutrition and hydration needs. Malnourished patients in hospital stay longer and are more likely to develop complications or infections.
At the same time, some patients will be dealing with illness brought on by overconsumption. In England, many people are overweight or obese and excess weight can increase the risk of developing certain conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and can affect mental health.
NHS staff can also be overweight or obese. More than a third of all the food provided in our hospital is served to staff and visitors, and their needs are very different from those of patients. As an NHS Trust, we have a role as a beacon of good practice in supporting staff to make healthier choices.
Hospital food should meet all these challenges.
- It should complement the patient’s care and enhance their stay.
- It should help staff and visitors choose a healthier lifestyle and it should support our economy and protect our environment.
Hospital food can and should be a vehicle for improvement and a role model for food in the local community.
Key Elements
1.Key Characteristics of Good Nutritional Care
We will embrace the following Key Characteristics which offer an overarching set of principles to guide developing a food and drink strategy.
- Nutritional screening and care planning
- Protected mealtimes
- Food safety
- Staff training
- Governance frameworks
We will meet the Key Characteristics in the following ways:
- All patients will be screened on admission to identify those who are malnourished or at risk of being malnourished. All patients will then be re-screened weekly and we will ensure that any actions are progressed and monitored.
- Allpatients will have a nutritional care plan which clearly describes their nutritional care needs and how they are to be met.
- We will include specific guidance on food and beverage services and nutritional care in our service delivery and accountability arrangements.
- Patients will be involved in the planning and monitoring arrangements for the food and beverage service.
- We will protect mealtimes in order to create an environment conducive to patients enjoying their meals and being able to safely consume their meal.
- All staff will be trained to have the appropriate skills and competencies needed to ensure that the nutritional and fluid needs of patients are met. All staff will receive regular training updates of nutritional care and management.
- Our catering services and facilities will be designed to be flexible and centred on the needs of the patients using them.
- Our food service and nutritional care will be provided safely.
- We will ensure that all staff involved in providing nutritional care, work closely together and value each other’s contributions towards the care.
2.Nutrition and Hydration for Patients
Food is vitally important to people, it embraces their health and enjoyment. Mealtimes can provide both an enjoyable experience and the nutrients to support recovery and promote health including psychological well-being.
- We will offer food and drink services that are high quality, safe, nutritious, cost effective, wholesome and appealing to meet the patient’s needs.
- We will publish information for patients about our food and drink services and the standards they can expect.
- We will develop a range of menus to meet all dietary, religious and cultural needs and ensure that the menu format allows all patients to understand the choices available to them.
- We will meet the nutritional targets for both the nutritionally well and nutritionally vulnerable patients.
- We will ensure that our meal service is flexible to cater for small and frequent meal patterns including access to food and drinks 24 hours a day.
- We will identify patients who require assistance with eating and drinking and put support in place to enable them to eat and drink with dignity, including relatives helping with mealtimes.
- We will protect mealtimes to allow patients to enjoy their meal and gain maximum benefit from the experience.
- We will improve hydration to bring well-being, better quality of life and improved health outcomes to patients.
- We will reduce waste, as the nutritional value of food not eaten is nil.
- We will seek the views of patients about the service and act on the feedback received.
- We will provide information to patients in all settings about good nutrition and promote healthy eating where this is appropriate.
3.Healthier Eating for Staff and Visitors
Our staff need healthier and nutritious food to support them in delivering the best clinical care and for their mealtimes to be protected. The NHS has a public health responsibility and if it is to properly promote health, as well as deal with ill-health,and then it must look to the food it provides.
For many staff, the food they eat at work makes up a substantial part of their daily diet and a healthier intake here can make a real difference.
- We will work in partnership with voluntary services and contractors, to make the healthier choice the easier choice in the staff restaurant, vending machines and on-site shops.
- A Wellbeing programme for staff will focus on Eat Well, Exercise Well and Think Well and will provide access to free health checks; lifestyle action planning and support workshops. The eatwell plate will guide staff on thechoice of foods, drinks and snacks available and will provide information on healthy eating.
- We will pay particular attention to the choices available to staff who work out of hours to ensure they have healthier options.
- We will consider the dietary, cultural and religious needs of our staff and ensure there are suitable choices for everyone.
- We will work towards clear and comprehensive food labelling to include nutritional information and allergen content.
4.Sustainable Procurement for Food and Catering Services
We will work with our contractors and suppliers to meet the Government Buying Standards (GBS) for food and catering services. These standards cover three areas of sustainable procurement:
- Food produced to higher sustainability standards
This covers issues such as food produced to higher environmental standards, fish from sustainable sources, seasonal fresh food, animal welfare and ethical trading considerations.
- Food procured and served to higher nutritional standards
To reduce salt, saturated fat and sugar and increase consumption of fibre, fish, fruit and vegetables.
- Procurement of catering operations to higher sustainability standards
This includes equipment, waste and energy management
References/Bibliography
- Council of Europe Resolution Food and Nutritional care in Hospitals
- Healthier and More Sustainable Catering: Nutritional Principles
- Sustainable procurement: the Government Buying Standards (GBS)
- The Hospital Food Standards Panel’s report on standards for food and drink in NHS hospitals
Related Trust Policies/Procedures
- Patient Protected Mealtimes Policy
- Food Safety Policy
- Food Safety Manual
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