Hospital food is an essential part of patient care. Good food can encourage patients to eat well, giving them the nutrients they need to recover from surgery or illness.

The Better Hospital Food programme was introduced to ensure the consistent delivery of high quality food and food services to patients.

This website, which now replaces the Better Hospital Food site, contains best practice guidance, resources and background information to support the delivery of food in NHS healthcare facilities.

Highlights

The National Dish Selector contains over 300 recipes developed by a team of leading chefs for use in healthcare facilities.

Sections on Better Hospital Food initiatives comprise:

• Flexi Menu pilot, providing patients with a greater choice of meals;
• Protected Mealtimes, guaranteeing patients un-disturbed meals;
• 24-hour Catering, providing food any time of the day or night;
• Sustainability, reducing environmental impact of food production;
• Nutrition, a key issue for caterers and dieticians.

Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT)

Patient Environment Action Team PEAT reports compare individual healthcare facilities' food service. These reports can be found on the National Patient Safety website
www.npsa.nhs.uk