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  5. The Nutrition and Hydration Digest 3rd Edition
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  7. Appendix 6: Hospital Food Standards (HFS) Panel Report on Standards for Food and Drink in NHS Hospitals, 2014

Appendix 6: Hospital Food Standards (HFS) Panel Report on Standards for Food and Drink in NHS Hospitals, 2014

The Hospital Food Standards Panel Report on Standards for Food and Drink in NHS Hospitals (1)

The five standards that the HFS state necessary compliance with to provide the highest quality and nutritional value of food for NHS patients, staff and visitors are:

For patient catering:

  • 10 Key Characteristics of Good Nutritional Care (2).
  • The BDA Nutrition & Hydration Digest, 2nd Edition (3).
  • Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) (4), or other validated nutrition screening tool.

For staff & visitor catering:

  • Healthier and More Sustainable Catering - Nutrition Principles (5).

For all catering:

  • Government Buying Standard for food and catering services (6).

A 2017 report was published by the Department of Health (DH) (7) following the release of the HFS and showed that over half of NHS hospitals were fully compliant with the standards, with over 90% of hospitals confirming they were working towards them.

Since 2015 NHS Standard Contracts have included the recommendation for all NHS Hospitals to develop and maintain a food and drink strategy (8). A toolkit was produced to support the development of a food and drink strategy within each NHS Trust (Figure 1.2). The toolkit provides guidance regarding each of the key areas a food and drink strategy should address, which are as follows:

  • The nutrition and hydration needs of patients
  • Healthier eating for the whole hospital community, especially staff
  • Sustainable procurement of food and catering services.

Chapter 1 of the Digest; The Importance of Nutrition and Hydration, outlines evidence-based strategies to ensure optimal provision of nutrition and hydration in the healthcare setting. Healthier food for staff and visitors is covered in Chapter 5, and Chapter 4 looks more into the topic of sustainability.

Figure 1.2: A Toolkit to Support the Development of a Hospital Food and Drink Strategy (30).

Figure 1.2 A Toolkit to Support the Development of a Hospital Food and Drink Strategy.png

References

  1. Department of Health and Social Care. Establishing food standards for NHS hospitals. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/establishing-food-standards-for-nhs-hospitals  [Accessed 11th April 2023]
  2. NHS England. 10 Key Characteristics of ‘Good Nutrition and Hydration Care’. https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/nut-hyd/10-key-characteristics/ [Accessed 25th May 2022]
  3. British Dietetic Association. The Nutrition and Hydration Digest improving outcomes through food and beverage services, 2nd Edition. https://www.bda.uk.com/uploads/assets/c24296fe-8b4d-4626-aeebb6cf2d92fccb/NutritionHydrationDigest.pdf [Accessed 11th April 2023]
  4. British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. The ‘MUST’ Toolkit. https://www.bapen.org.uk/screening-and-must/must/must-toolkit [Accessed 11th April 2023]
  5. Public Health England. Healthier and more sustainable catering. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthier-and-more-sustainable-catering-a-toolkit-for-serving-food-to-adults [Accessed 11th April 2023]
  6. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF): updating the nutrition standards. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802933/gbsf-nutrition-standards-consultation.pdf [Accessed 20th March 2023]
  7. Department of Health. The Hospital Food Standards Panel's report on standards for food and drink in NHS hospitals. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523049/Hospital_Food_Panel_May_2016.pdf [Accessed 20th March 2023].
  8. NHS England. NHS Standard Contract Service Conditions – Full Length. https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-standard-contract-service-conditions-full-length/ [Accessed 20th March 2023].