§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unannounced inspections of the quality of hospital food have taken place since the introduction of the NHS National Plan. [47004]
§ Ms BlearsThe NHS Plan said that there would be unannounced inspections of the quality of hospital food.
These inspections have been undertaken by patient environment action teams (PEATs) as part of the wider assessment of the quality of the environment in which patients are treated
The programme of PEAT visits commenced in 2000, and a further round of inspections is currently in process. To date a total of 1,060 unannounced inspections of the quality of food have been carried out, this figure will rise to 1,172 by the end of the current round of PEAT inspections.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many requests for each category of snack boxes there have been, expressed as a percentage of the overall number of requests; [47030]
(2) what percentage of hospitals make the full range of snack boxes available 24 hours of the day. [47031]
§ Ms BlearsThe requirement for hospitals to introduce a 24-hour catering service was included in the NHS Plan. The better hospital food programme, launched on 8 May 2001, set out details of the 24-hour service which should include a ward kitchen service, a snack box service and, by 2004, a light bite service. £4 million was issued to NHS trusts in January 2001 to assist in setting up 24-hour services.
The implementation pack issued to all national health service trusts in support of the better hospital food programme included three examples of snack boxes. However hospitals are not required to introduce these exact versions——each hospital should determine the types of snack box(es) used, and their precise contents, taking into account patient-mix and the advice of catering managers, nursing staff and dietitians.
Information relating to the types of snack boxes in use, and the numbers of requests, is not collected centrally.
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§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what role dieticians play in(a) advising and (b) checking on nutritional values in food in the NHS. [47006]
§ Ms BlearsThe better hospital food programme, announced in the NHS Plan, is a long-term initiative designed to improve the quality, availability of and access to food in NHS hospitals. It is supported by the investment of £38.5 million over four years.
It is increasingly being recognised that ensuring patients, many of whom enter hospital malnourished or over-nourished, receive and can benefit form adequate and appropriate nutrition plays a key part in the overall healthcare they receive and can lead to speedier recovery, reduced length of stay, reduced incidence of post operative complications such as pressure sores and poor wound healing and may lead to reduced expenditure on drugs, particularly antibiotics, used to combat these.
Hospital dieticians have a crucial role to play in ensuring that these benefits are realised through: advising on the formulation of hospital menus to ensure that nutritional standards are delivered for all patients, including those with specific dietary need; monitoring the nutritional intake of patients, particularly those at greatest risk; and advising individual patients on the nutritional values of foods, in order to help them make informed choices about their food intake to meet both their dietary needs and those of their clinical condition.
To this end NHS Estates has been working closely with representatives of the British Dietetic Association who are developing a consensus statement on "Food Service and the State Registered Dietitian" which will cover standards for the professions in a number of key areas: nutritional analysis of recipes and menus; diet coding definitions and standard glossary of terms. This will be a key document enabling standard criteria to be applied a cross the NHS.
Additionally, an ad hoc working group which includes nutritional experts, representatives of the British Dietetic Association, NHS dietitians and nurses is devising principles for nutritional screening which will facilitate the measurement of both under and over nutrition on entry to hospital. This will allow early intervention of clinical and dietetic staff to address problems which, unchecked, may lead to prolonged ill health. In addition research will be undertaken to establish the clinical outcomes of improved nutrition and to provide a tool to ensure that the nutritional aims of the better hospital food programme are taking effect.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS trusts have introduced a 24-hour catering service. [47829]
§ Ms BlearsThe requirement for hospitals to introduce a 24-hour catering service was included in the NHS Plan. The better hospital food programme, launched on 8 May 2001, set out details of the 24-hour service which should include a ward kitchen service, a snack box service and, by 2004, a light bite service. £4 million was issued to national health service trusts in January 2001 to assist in setting up 24-hour services.
The most recent returns from acute NHS trusts shows that 69 per cent. of hospitals have introduced ward kitchen services and 66 per cent. provide snack boxes. No figures are yet available regarding the number that have introduced light bite services.
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§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hospitals have successfully adopted the new NHS menus. [47024]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Better Hospital Food programme, which was launched in May 2001, is supported by the provision of £38.5 million over four years. It is a longer term initiative designed to improve the quality, availability of and access to food in hospitals.
The programme has set a number of targets for the national health service to achieve, including the incorporation into menus of dishes designed for the NHS by a team of leading chefs.
Latest returns from acute hospitals show that by the end of April two thirds of hospitals will include at least three of the 'leading chef' dishes in their menus.
The majority of those hospitals which are still working towards this target are those which use external suppliers. NHS Estates are working closely with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the external manufacturers to increase the availability of 'leading chef' dishes from these sources so that hospitals with delivered meals services can move swiftly to incorporate them in their menus.