Taste, temperature and choice came out on top when asked about meal preferences. Patients rated hospital meals an average of 7.4 out of 10 and staff service a score of 8.5 out of 10. The report also finds that 75% of patients would recommend the total service to someone if they were an in-patient in hospital.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Food in hospitals is a really important issue. There is currently little empirical evidence on the factors that influence patients’ willingness to eat or not to eat their meals whilst in hospital.
“We hope that this study will help provide food service providers, hospitals and those who serve the food with practical recommendations that will make a real difference to the patient experience.
“Identifying where the industry is excelling and under-performing is crucial to raising foodservice within hospitals. Hospitals must strive to deliver good quality food that patients enjoy.”
The report finds that 11% of patients were ‘dissatisfied’, including younger patients (19-39), those with special dietary requirements, non-white British patients, people who had been in hospital for more than 14 days, and when family members had answered on behalf of the patient.
Patients also rated the fulfilment of nutritional needs and 16% said they did not always have drinking water in reach, a figure that rose to 26% in one hospital. 25% were never (15%) or only sometimes (10%) offered help with eating when required.
Out of the patients who had special dietary requirements, 95% stated their needs were well met. However, only 16% of overall patients said they received advice about nutrition and eating.
As a result of the report, 16 recommendations have been published to highlight what food providers, hospitals and regulators can do to make a difference to patient experience.
The recommendations include: providers should work to satisfy the top three patient priorities for meal experience: taste, choice and temperature; ensuring all patients are supported with eating, and are provided with nutritional advice and constant access to hydration and nutritional necessities such as water and three meals a day; and developing menus and ensuring correct provision of meals for those with special dietary requirements, from minority ethnic backgrounds and patients with a longer stay in hospital.
The study was conducted across six NHS Trusts and funding for the report cam in the form of an educational grant from Compass Group.
To support the release of the report, an event was held for chief executive officers and directors of NHS Hospital Trusts, as well as key health and political stakeholders. Steven Cenci, the healthcare managing director of Compass Group UK & Ireland, was in attendance as well as guest speaker Prue Leith.