inside health

Welcome to Inside Health
Next week's Hospital Caterers Association conference comes hot on the heels of the Government's announcement of £280m of new money to improve the quality of state school meals. Hospital caterers will no doubt be asking themselves how they can capitalise on the Government's apparently new-found desire to invest in public-sector catering.
Of course, as the new HCA president, Lord Philip Hunt, points out in our interview on page 58, hospital food has already had its "Jamie Oliver effect" in the shape of Loyd Grossman's Better Hospital Food programme, launched in 2001.
But, as Rosemarie Hoyle, divisional manger of Apetito Healthcare, argues on page 52, there is a renewed need for everyone involved in hospital catering to ensure that the Better Hospital Food programme sustains a high profile.
One area that both the HCA and NHS are keen to tackle is food waste in hospitals. From our feature on page 54 we can see that the levels of waste vary greatly from one trust to another. We explore the various causes of waste and a number of best-practice examples of how to keep it to a minimum.
On page 56 we take a look at the language used on hospital menus. Some restaurant-style descriptions of dishes may leave patients scratching their heads. We offer common-sense solutions that should have patients tucking in with relish.
Ben Walker, Commissioning Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper