He told delegates at the East Midlands Conference Centre: “We have a new Government and it has made clear it wants a national conversation to develop a health service fit for the future and the NACC has been invited to take part in this conversation.”
And the collaboration with the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) to develop a Level 2 qualification for chefs working in the healthcare sector has also been resurrected.
After the original launch of the qualification fell foul of the pandemic lockdown and lack of take-up by catering colleges, Neel said the two organisations had revisited the idea.
“We have updated it, taking into account the recent BDA standards for the care sector, and we looking to re-launch it in the new year. More news to follow.”
He also had good news about the structure of the organisation, telling the forum that members had stepped forward to volunteer for roles with the NACC’s region and now all six had full committees and as a result 2024 would see them deliver 18 regional events around the country.
Andrew Archer, the managing director of Dewberry Redpoint, publisher of Public Sector Catering, offered delegates some insight into research the company had compiled about the public sector foodservice market.
He said that of the 2.6bn meals served annually in the sector, schools contributed the most with 1.2bn and then came the care sector on 650m.
He said that as the numbers of over 65’s in the population grew there would be more meals served in care, with a projected growth of 26% to 705m meals by 2028.
The challenges the care sector faced as a result would be staffing, rising food, labour and energy costs plus the unknown factor about funding for the sector, especially as several local authorities had already been declared bankrupt and there would likely be more in the future.
Workshop sessions at the forum during the day also looked at the challenges of delivering healthy yet sustainable menus, procurement models, providing the best nutrition in a care setting, and some thoughts from Brian Preston the 2023 NACC Care Chef of the Year on the challenges and rewards of working in the care sector and why he encouraged care chefs to challenge and improve themselves by entering the competition next year.