Half of hospitals do not have a healthy eating policy

A new report published today by the Campaign for Better Hospital Food (CBHF) and UNISON shows that half of hospitals in England don’t have a healthy eating policy¹.

Almost all (92.3%) caterers surveyed believe the NHS has a responsibility to promote healthy eating in hospitals and to the general public. Currently, hospitals in England are not subject to mandatory food standards unlike most public service providers such as schools and prisons².

Six out of ten hospital cooks believe that the introduction of standards for patient meals in Wales and Scotland has improved their quality³.

The Campaign for Better Hospital Food is calling on the Government to introduce mandatory standards in England. It is supported by 98 organisations, including Age UK, Hospital Caterers Association and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health⁴.

The survey revealed that the closure of hospital kitchens is affecting their ability to cook fresh nutritious meals. It found:

• Only half of caterers (50.8%) prepare and cook meals from scratch in their hospital’s own kitchen, but eight out of 10 would prefer to cook fresh food.
• seven out of 10 caterers said that having use of their own kitchen would enable them prepare higher quality meals.
• two out of ten caterers are employed at a hospital where the kitchen had been removed from the premises during their employment there. Of those caterers, more than half (54.5%) said the removal of the kitchen had had a harmful effect on the quality of patient meals at their hospital.

Alex Jackson, Co-ordinator of the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, said:

“There is widespread and growing support for the introduction of mandatory standards for hospital food in England. This report shows that hospital caterers also support standards and believe they would significantly improve the quality of meals they serve to patients.

“This is in part because they have seen the value of having food standards in other parts of Britain’s public sector including schools, prisons, government departments and hospitals in Wales and Scotland”.

Sian Rabi-Laleh, National Officer for Health at UNISON, said:

“England is behind in terms of the food it serves to patients. It is no mystery that good nutritional food has a positive impact on patients’ recovery.

“We want the government to set mandatory standards for hospital food to ensure more patient meals are freshly cooked on site and to protect hospital kitchens and the jobs of the talented and devoted hospital caterers.”

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Campaign for Better Hospital Food
Alex Jackson is available for interviews on 0203 5596 777 or 07734 902909, or by email at alex@sustainweb.org

UNISON Press Office
Fatima Ayad 0207 121 5255 or 07508 080383 f.ayad@unison.co.uk

Notes to Editors

New report: Keep Hospitals Cooking: Reflections from a hospital kitchen is available.

1. 46% hospitals in England don’t have a healthy eating policy for patient meals and for food sold on hospital premises to NHS staff and visitors
2. For mandatory food standards in schools: DfE
3. For mandatory food standards in Governmental departments and prisons: DEFRA
4. Food standards in Wales and in Scotland.
5. Full list of organisations supporting the Campaign for Better Hospital Food