Commenting today (23 July 2015) on food quality at the Trust, Ms Bronwen Bishop, Director of Strategic Development at Weston Area Health NHS Trust, said: “Patient feedback on the quality and tastiness of our food at Weston General Hospital is always consistently high. With a national Hospital food rating of 98.9% we’re one of the best ranking hospitals in the region, offering a good choice and value.
“As a Trust we spent £445,484 delivering meals for our patients in the last year, which works out at £4.47 a day per patient (for three meals). Occasionally, there will be some natural food wastage (6.9% per month in 2013/14).
“Many of our patients are sick and elderly, and sometimes they aren’t able to finish the full portion provided. Some patients are also on medication and this can affect appetite. Our Volunteer Mealtime Assistants are on hand to offer help to patients who are struggling to eat.
“While all of our meals are prepared offsite, our dietitians work closely on the menu planning and nutritional content of patient food with the catering department. In-patients are regularly screened by nurses to check they are not at risk of malnourishment.
“The menus are on a two-week cycle, as the average patient stay is three to four days. We cater for different dietary requirements. There is always a vegetarian option on our menus – we also offer gluten free meals and also provide a good daily alternative for patients who can only eat Halal or Kosher food. We also run protected mealtimes on wards.
“We’re pleased that our wastage is much lower than the 18% average in the Health Care Sector (source: WRAP). There is a balancing act to be had between food portions and waste, and we think we’ve got it about right – our patients seem to agree.
“Food is part of the healing process and helps to assist recovery. If our patients receive good nutrition they’ll recover quicker.”