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NHS staff in Wales set for hospital food workshops

01/08/2008

NHS staff in Wales are to take part in workshops to improve the quality and provision of food in hospital.

The training follows a recent report which said there are a number of ways patients' experience of hospitals could improve and the recommendations of a group set up by health minister Edwina Hart to look at hospital food.

Nutritional training in each NHS trust will be carried by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales and all staff involved the food chain - including those buying, cooking and serving hospital food - will attend.

Ms Hart said these workshops would "improve the patient experience".

"From listening to patients, I know that they often have strong views about the quality of food they are given in hospital.

"I want to ensure that the meals patients are served not only taste better, but are more nutritional and therefore conducive to them making a speedier recovery."

Martin Semple, head of the RCN Wales Institute, commented: "The Royal College of Nursing Wales is well placed to deliver this training, having launched our Nutrition Now campaign which aims to improve standards in hospitals and community health settings.

"The workshops will be multi-disciplinary and will cover issues such as procurement, nutritional screening, observations of care and the development and implementation of action plans."

The food training is part of wider efforts to improve nutritional standards.

Last March, Mrs Hart also announced the NHS would ban unhealthy vending machines in hospitals. Only one NHS hospital in Wales out of 130 will not have healthy vending in place by 2010.