Protected Mealtimes

Mealtimes provide patients with access to adequate nutrition as well as an opportunity to support social interaction. Good nutrition good hydration and enjoyable mealtimes can dramatically improve the health and wellbeing of people. As such the therapeutic role of food within the healing process needs to be re-emphasised and ward based staff given the opportunity to focus on the nutritional requirements of patients at mealtimes. Recent results from a nationwide survey suggest that 1 in 3 of all patients of all ages admitted into hospital and care homes are at risk of malnutrition and more than 1 in 5 of all patients admitted were recorded as at high risk of malnutrition (BAPEN Nutrition Screening Week Survey Jan 2010).

On admission to hospital, and at regular intervals after admission, adults and children must have their risk of malnutrition assessed using either the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) or the Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Screening tool (PYMS). Use of these tools ensures that staff create suitable nutritional care plans to promote optimal nutrition. However food, even if it is of the highest quality, is only of any value if the patient actually eats it.

It is the responsibility of the whole healthcare team to ensure that patients are encouraged and assisted to eat their meals, and that practitioners deliver the highest possible nutritional care for patients during mealtimes in accordance with the NHS QIS Standards on Food, Fluid and Nutritional Care in Hospitals (2003).