Hospital food and

beverage services
Food
Beverages

Food service

Menu planning
The Food Chain

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Menu planning

An inclusive process
Requires in depth knowledge of t
he needs of the patient
Menu requires structure
Menu requires content
Menu is complemented with non
-meal food and beverage servi
ces

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An inclusive process

Nutritional value of food not eaten is nil

Need to involve the consumer at the
planning stage
Need to involve the producer and make
sure that plans can be delivered
Need to include service staff to engender a
pride in the product
Need to check nutritional content and
menu capacity
Need to check cost and affordability

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In depth knowledge of the

needs of the patient

Age and gender

Ethnicity
Food preferences
State of health
State of dentition
Mental health

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Menu requires structure

How many meals per day?

How much choice on offer?
Range of accompaniments etc
etc

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Menu requires content

What is the most

suitable range of
dishes?
What specification of
dishes?

What is the most

suitable portion size?
What is the nutritional
specification?
What are the
ingredients
specifications?
What are the cost
specifications?

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How will specification

be met?

Menu testing

Standard recipes
Standards of
procurement
Feedback from
patients
Feedback from staff

Nutritional capacity
testing
Nutritional analysis of
menu

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Menu is complemented with non-meal

food and beverage services

Ward issues of:

Milk, breakfast cereals, bread, butter, sugar,

preserves, tea, coffee etc

Suitable items for between meal snacks

Supplements

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The Food Chain

Patient orders food

Food order communicated to kitchen

Provisions procured
Provisions delivered and receipted
Provisions stored
Food produced
Food distributed
Food served
Food intake monitored and appropriate acti
on taken
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Patient orders food

Ordered at time of service

Ordered using menu card
Ordered using hand held device
Ordered using bedside terminal

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Food order communicated to the

kitchen

Ward order predicted by forecasting

Card collated at ward level
Card collated centrally
Hand held linked on ward or centrally
Bedside terminal linked by ward or
centrally
Systems can be linked to nutritional
databases

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Provisions procured

Ingredients and product specification need

to be determined
PASA system provides data
PASA manages specification of NHS
contracts

GM free
Compliance with salt model
Allergen information
Nutrition information available

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Provisions delivered and receipted

Availability is critical to success

Critical control point with regard to hygiene
and cost control
Food bill in typical 1000 bed hospital
c1.5M per annum
C4,100 per day of perishable goods
delivered

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Provisions stored
Responsibility for food safety begins with
delivery
Food poisoning killed 19 people in
Wakefield 1985
Poor storage adversely affects nutritional
content
EHO enforces food hygiene regulations
EHO can shut kitchen down with immediate
effect
Breach of regulations can lead to
prosecution
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Food produced

Standard recipes are vital:

Nutritional quality control

Cost control
Quality assurance

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Food distributed

Any hospital with more than 300 beds will

need to consider distribution technology

Cook chill
Cook freeze
Sous vide

All distribution technology requires

regeneration at ward level

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Food served

Protected mealtimes
Essence of care food and nutrition benchmark
HCA food service at ward level
Ward prepared for the meal
Patients prepared for the meal
Right meal to the right patient
Appropriate equipment available
Appropriate assistance available and planned for
Arrangements in place for last minute changes

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Food intake monitored and appropriate

action taken

Responsible Registered nurse must be

aware of patients intake
Systems in place to record food intake for
vulnerable patients
Systems in place to record missed meals
Systems in place to trigger action when
food intake deemed inadequate
Regular communications with dietitian and
clinical team about food intake

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