§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken in relation to South Glamorgan health authority, to ensure that all necessary physical conditions and procedures are satisfactorily met in the catering departments at its district general hospitals.
§ Mr. GristThe Department issued the latest guidance to district health authorities on food hygiene and pest control in the NHS in 1988. Responsibility for inspecting hospital catering premises and for monitoring food hygiene procedures generally within hospitals rests with the relevant local authority environmental health departments.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice his Department has given regarding the use of cook-chill methods(a) generally and (b) in national health service institutions in Wales; and if he will place copies of any guidance in the Library.
§ Mr. GristGeneral advice on the subject was contained in the press release "Advice to the Public on Listeria and Food" issued by the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health on 10 February 1989. This advice was drawn to the attention of all chief environmental health officers and medical officers of environmental health.
Further advice was provided in a letter entitled "Listeriosis and Food", copies of which were sent to all doctors in Wales on 21 February 1989.
The most recent guidelines on cook-chill and cook-freeze catering systems were issued to the NHS in Wales on 5 July 1989.
Copies of all these documents have been placed in the Library of the House.