Patients' favourite meals under the microscope
A panel of culinary experts and patient representatives checked out that the 27 most popular dishes in the Better Hospital Food (BHF) programme were up to scratch in London last week.
The dishes, which included traditional favourites such as Lancashire hotpot, shepherd's pie, fish pie and rhubarb crumble, were given the once-over by, among others, health minister Lord Warner and BHF chairman Loyd Grossman. Warner said: "Better and varied hospital food is a key part of improving the patient experience. We've seen real progress in the quality of hospital meals as a result of the programme."
Grossman said the programme had been working with manufacturers of pre-made meals to ensure quality and consistency. "Ensuring patient nutrition is a crucial component of healthcare, and making sure the food provided looks and tastes good is an important part of the process," he said.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said the panel's comments would be fed back to the BHF programme, which would then decide if changes were needed.
The programme, formed in 2000, was set up to improve standards of food and develop new menus for hospital patients. Last year's survey into patient food, the second to be conducted by the independent Patient Environment Action Teams (PEAT) established to undertake reviews at hospitals, showed that improvements in patient satisfaction had continued.
Warner will be the keynote speaker at the HCA's 51st annual conference in Brighton on 29 April. Grossman will update the conference on the BHF programme on 30 April.
Review of hospital food standards undertaken by PEAT in 2003
| Red (poor) | Yellow (acceptable) | Green (good) | |
| 2002 | 15 (2%) | 554 (81%) | 118 (17%) |
| 2003 | 0 (0%) | 480 (56.8%) | 365 (43.2%) |
Value of food purchases in the health sector
| Number of outlets | Number of meals (million) | Value of food purchases (£m) | |
| Hospitals | 1,414 | 526.6 | 370.3 |
| Total state sector | 2,177 | 565.9 | 404.3 |
| Independent hospitals | 312 | 68.3 | 54.8 |
| Independent sector (including nursing homes) | 20,052 | 291 | 134.5 |
| Care homes (Including voluntary and local authority homes) | 8,692 | 150.3 | 48.6 |
| Healthcare | 30,921 | 1,007.1 | 587.4 |
