Hospital staff make mealtimes matter

Patients, visitors, staff and members of the public will have the opportunity to sample dishes from our proposed new patient menu and to talk to hospital staff about the importance of patient mealtimes, on Tuesday 17 March in the main concourse of Derriford Hospital.

The event will showcase some of the work going on around the Trust to improve the patients’ mealtime experience. It is part of our Making Mealtimes Matter campaign and is being held to coincide with Nutrition and Hydration Week (16-20 March).

Throughout the day, some of our matrons will be on hand to discuss the importance of protected mealtimes and the red tray initiative, staff from Burrator Ward will be showcasing how they ‘Make Mealtimes Matter’ and dietetic staff will be available to demonstrate the new e-learning training package and to conduct Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) assessments and explain its importance.

From 12 noon, dishes selected from the planned new patient menu will be available for patients, visitors, staff and members of the public to sample and give their feedback. The Trust’s main patient food supplier, Apetito, will be present to talk about their sustainability agenda.

Liz McGuffog, Hotel Services Service Lead for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “A stay in hospital is an anxious time for our patients and this can adversely affect appetites and enjoyment of food so it is essential we do everything we can to improve the mealtime experience and encourage patients to eat.

“Nutrition, in conjunction with other initiatives such as protected mealtimes and the use of red lids and trays to ensure patients receive the support they need, are vital to their recovery. Our event next week is about showing how much thought goes into what food is served to patients and how we serve it.”

In addition to the main event on Tuesday, other initiatives throughout the week include:

• A ‘Tea with Matron’ to be held every day throughout the week on various wards in the hospital. This will involve our matrons taking afternoon tea out to patients and their relatives on wards and discussing food and dietary issues.
• Some nursing staff will be assisting with afternoon tea service; encouraging patients to take snacks to supplement their nutritional intake.
• Dietetic staff will be supporting our Dietetic Link Nurses to conduct MUST assessments.
• Members of the senior management team will be assisting with meal services on our wards.
• Restaurant 7 will be offering a daily ‘Patient Choice’ dish. This will be a selected dish from the patient menu and will cost £1.75 to include a free mini fresh fruit pot.