HC Deb 24 March 2004 vol 419 cc922-3W
Sue Doughty

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to ensure that hospitals provide(a) nutritious and (b) high quality food for patients. [161649]

Mr. Hutton

The NHS Plan required hospitals, by 2004, to have a hospital nutrition policy to improve the outcome of care for patients and reduce dependency on intravenous feeding regimes. Hospitals should also ensure that their menus are subject to nutritional analysis to ensure they meet the needs of patients.

To assist hospitals in providing high quality food and food services, NHS Estates developed the Better Hospital Food programme. The national health service is making good progress in delivering these new services which reflect patients' preferences and provide a wider range of food options, including recipes and product purchasing specifications. In addition, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency has in place stringent controls to ensure the quality of all food for which contracts are negotiated on behalf of the NHS.

Patient environment action teams inspect the quality of food served in hospitals as part of their annual assessments.