Basically Its for nutrition (so you can monitor
what and how much is eaten), patient wellbeing
and self respect for the patient.
Where food is provided, healthcare organisations
should have systems in place to ensure
that • Patients are provided with choice, and a safely
prepared and balanced diet
• All patients have 24 hour access to food
• Patient’s individual nutritional, personal and
clinical dietary requirements are met,
including any necessary help with feeding. This responsibility is now being carried forward by
the National Patient Safety Agency
(NPSA). The NPSA expects improvements to
continue through local developments based on
BHF and Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT)
activity, for example (see section 9c). PEAT was originally underpinned by the document
Hospital Catering: Delivering a quality
service (NHS Executive, 1996).
Instead of central guidance the NPSA will be
focusing on risk management aspects of
patient feeding and nutrition (Ogilvie, 2006).