Press Releases

Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) views on the BBC 1 “Operation Hospital Food” series

The Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) gives its reaction to the recent TV series entitled “Operation Hospital Food” which was broadcast on BBC 1 in September 2011 and starred celebrity chef, James Martin. The chef was invited to front this mini daytime series by the BBC which involved him working with the catering team at Scarborough Hospital to improve patient food.

Janice Gillan, Chair, Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) says:

“Given a number of past endeavours, there has been some media coverage questioning the value of celebrity chefs’ like James Martin becoming involved with initiatives that set out to improve hospital food. Whilst one would question how a single site project could actually be a remedy for all hospital catering scenarios, I believe that celebrity chefs do help to raise the profile of hospital food and ensure that the attention of the media, public and in turn, NHS Trust Managers, is drawn to the issues facing hospital caterers”.

“In this particular exercise and unlike perhaps Loyd Grossman and the celebrity chefs who supported the Government’s Better Hospital Food initiative, James Martin became integrated into the whole process at Scarborough Hospital. He was physically involved in the day to day operation with the rest of the catering team. Unfortunately, Loyd Grossman and his team were not given access to key financial aspects nor were they able to experience the hospital catering challenges for a sustained period in real hospital kitchens”.

“The recent BBC series helped to highlight the limited resources with which many hospital catering managers have to operate. Whilst there is often a view that conventional cook-serve methods of preparing food is best, this is an ‘ideal world’ for many hospital catering managers, for a wide range of managerial, financial and operational reasons. These include budget constraints, the limited fabric of the existing hospital building, the unwillingness of the NHS Boards to invest in catering services or even the fact that many new hospitals are being built without kitchens. In this kind of situation, hospital catering managers have no option but to employ cook-chill or similar methods to provide food for patients, visitors and staff. However, if managed appropriately, these methods can be equally tasty and nutritionally beneficial to patients”.

“The James Martin series has focused on some serious challenges and significant issues for hospital caterers. It clearly highlighted the lack of investment in hospital kitchens and the limited food costs that many caterers are working with. James Martin was quoted as saying that the daily NHS budget allocation per patient was £3.49 for all food and beverages but in fact many caterers are having to work with far less. For many Trust Boards, catering is viewed as a low priority and in this period of economic crisis, many are looking for more ways to make cost savings”.

“Despite all hospital caterers working to similar standards, we all start from a different baseline which means that some caterers have just £2.50 per day per patient for all food and beverages whilst others might have as much as £6.00 per day. As a result of the lack of investment in hospital catering services and other factors such as the need for greater efficiencies or skill shortages in some areas, many kitchens have been closed and therefore, meals have to be obtained from other hospitals within a Trust area or from external suppliers”.

“The programmes also highlighted a number of other aspects faced by all hospital caterers. Some were pertinent to Scarborough Hospital, an acute hospital which generally means shorter stay patients. Catering procedures that are suitable for some types of hospital, are not necessarily practical or viable for others which might have longer stay patients with a wider and different range of medical and nutritional range of requirements. Catering managers are faced with an extremely diverse range of challenges, depending on the patient profiles. in planning menus including the need for special therapeutic diets ranging from Gluten Free, Low Phosphate, Low Potassium, Milk Free, Egg Free to Halal and Kosher, many of which can be labour intensive and costly.

“James Martin advocated greater use of local suppliers and freshly prepared items such as soups. Many caterers all over the country already know the importance of serving, and provide, freshly made items such as soups, with packet versions only being used in emergencies. Whilst many catering managers may also want to use more locally sourced produce, they do have their hands tied because the NHS is governed by EU Procurement legislation. This means that local suppliers cannot be given priority. Whilst smaller NHS Trusts may be able to get round this because of the size of their contracts or because they have the personnel to undertake the contracting process, the larger Trusts are required to put out their purchase orders as ‘lots’ which means that they are then bound by EU legislation”.

“However, regardless of whether dishes are prepared in a hospital kitchen on site or prepared off site by another hospital kitchen within the Trust or an outside supplier, all dishes must conform to strict quality standards. Hospital caterers work to strict standards set, for example, in England by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which is Outcome 5 – Meeting Nutritional Needs. The Guidance has been jointly set by the CQC and the Royal College of Nursing and is the basis for regular assessments by the CQC of a Trust’s catering services. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, similar standards are applied just as vigorously by different scrutinising bodies”.

In this period of economic uncertainty and public spending cuts, there is no doubt that NHS budgets nationwide are being squeezed leaving hospital caterers in the unenviable position of having to satisfy two ‘masters’ – the hospital patients, visitors and staff at one end and the NHS Trust Boards at the other. The general public should be reassured that caterers really are doing their best to create acceptable meals for patients on ever diminishing budgets and in extremely tough operating circumstances. Whilst there are some opportunities to provide fresh food, it has to be said that if freshly sourced ingredients and higher quality food prepared from raw ingredients are expected on a wider scale then this can really only be achieved with greater investment and a higher commitment to catering services by more Trust Boards.

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Contact: Hazel Green, National Press Officer - HCA
T: 01932 253184 E: HaGreen7@aol.com
September 2011