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Better food on the menu in hospitals
08/07/2008
Nutrition champions have been appointed across Scotland to promote nutritional standards in Scotland.
Launching the Food, Fluid and Nutrition programme at Wishaw General Hospital, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said that £1.08 million has been made available to allow boards to appoint the champions.
The champions will support the programme which aims to ensure that all patients receive the best nutritional care while in hospital.
Food, Fluid and Nutrition includes:
- Information on standards for nutrient and food provision in hospitals and guidance on meeting the standards
- Information on improving nutritional care, supporting staff through practice development and education
- A monitoring tool which will initially be tested in NHS Forth Valley, Highland and Grampian
Ms Sturgeon said:
"The Food, Fluid and Nutrition programme will help to address the nutritional needs of all patients, whatever their dietary requirements are.
"A nutritious balanced diet is clearly a crucial part of every patient's treatment and recovery. That is why we are launching this programme to highlight the importance of the appropriate food provision for all patients.
"We are also providing help and support for staff to implement the programme by providing funding for boards to appoint nutrition champions. I believe these nutrition standards will make a real difference to patients' experience of hospitals and will, ultimately, make a significant contribution to the quality of care in our hospitals."
Jeannette Morrison, programme manager for Improving Nutritional Care Programme at NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, said:
"NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is delighted to be working jointly with NHS Education for Scotland to support staff through a programme of work centring on practice development and education. The nutrition champions will be key to supporting NHS boards to improve nutritional care for patients, and they will work closely with Charge Nurses and other staff to improve the nutritional care for patients whilst in hospital."
Nutrition champions will be NHS employees from a variety of clinical and managerial backgrounds. They will be appointed for two years to support the Food, Fluid and Nutrition programme.
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland published clinical standards on Food, Fluid and Nutrition in hospitals in 2003. The standards were reviewed in 2005/06 when it was recommended that the quality of nutritional care in Scotland's hospitals should be improved.
A national programme board, chaired by the Chief Nursing Officer, was established to develop the programme.
The monitoring tool will be used by NHS boards to ensure compliance with the specification for food, fluid and nutrition as well as incorporating the patients' experience of their nutritional care. The monitoring tool will initially be tested for three months in Forth Valley, Highland and Grampian. It will then be rolled out to all boards from October.
As part of Scotland's first-ever national food and drink policy, the Scottish Government is encouraging people to develop healthy eating habits that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
The next steps towards the first cross-cutting National Food and Drink Policy for Scotland to boost the industry, support healthier and more environmentally sustainable choices and enhance Scotland's reputation as a land of quality food and drink, were announced by Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead at the Royal Highland Show last month.