Better, but room for improvement
Better Hospital Food (BHF) was launched in May 2001, and I think most people would agree that, while it has been successful in raising awareness and driving change in the sector, there is still room for improvement.
In light of current debate around
24-hour feeding and the complexities of protected meal times, menus are still regularly reviewed, and service levels remain under scrutiny. However, BHF has been overshadowed by the high-profile debate on school meals - largely down to the success of Jamie's School Dinners - and the recent announcement of increased funding for the sector.
As the Government commits £280m across the next three years to the improvement of school meals, one might ask whether the healthcare service will receive a similar level of support to allow the continuation and development of the programme.
At the launch of BHF the Government pledged a £40m budget. This is significantly short of the sum allocated to the school meals campaign and becomes even less significant when you consider that NHS patients generally require a minimum of three meals a day for all 52 weeks of the year.
Continued investment in the programme is vital to ensure the service's commitment to quality and choice. It is a massive task, but one that is essential to the healing process and the overall wellbeing of hospital patients - of equal importance to society, we would argue, as the provision of nutritionally balanced school meals.
Catering budgets in many trusts continue to be squeezed. This has made the funding of snacks between meals, together with other BHF recommendations, very difficult to deliver. Now, as the programme enters the next phase, it must evolve in order to maintain its appeal and keep pace with the changing demographics and lifestyle preferences of patients.
In a complex market that caters for all ages from nought to 100-plus, there is no easy-fix solution. It is of concern that in just four years there are signs of a shift from the chef-developed dishes recommended by BHF towards the formats of the highly successful retail convenience ready-meal market. Led by the desire to include contemporary flavours in a familiar format, there is a belief that such meals will appeal to a larger proportion of patients.
However, such ready-meals are produced for the retail sector and do not take into consideration the scale and complexity of the healthcare market.
Meals need to be nutritionally balanced and available in a variety of formats depending on the needs of the patient - such as those who have difficulties swallowing or those on a diabetic diet. While contemporary retail-style ready-meals may appeal to younger patients, the majority of long-stay patients are over 60 years old.
There is no doubt that, with the support of BHF, hospital caterers have made significant strides towards improving food and service standards. However, it is important that everyone involved in the provision of food in hospitals, from the chief executive down, makes a concerted effort to ensure that BHF sustains its high profile within the public forum. And we need the Government's continued support for school meals and hospital catering to ensure that food quality and nutritional standards continue to improve.
CAPTION: Rosemarie Hoyle believes the Government should show the same concern for hospital patients as it does for schoolchildren
CAPTION: "A shift from the dishes recommended
by BHF towards the formats of the
ready-meal market is of concern"
