National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink, 2022 (1)
As introduced in the main body of Chapter 3, the national standards cover four sections:
- Standards for all healthcare food and drink
- Improving patient’s food and drink
- Improving retail, staff and visitor food and drink
- Improving sustainable procurement and reducing food waste
NHS England will monitor progress through data collection. Organisations will be expected to report yearly on their compliance, and provide evidence based on the standards’ maturity matrix (2).
Within sections 1 and 2 of the standards, the BDA Nutrition and Hydration Digest is listed as one of the standards to be met for food and drink within NHS hospitals. Organisations must show that they comply with the Digest to support their progress within the maturity matrix. The national standards signpost to a compliance assessment tool, which can be used to check against implementation of these standards.
References
- NHS England. National standards for healthcare food and drink. https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink/ [Accessed 4th April 2023]
- NHS England. National standards for healthcare food and drink – The maturity matrix. https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink-the-maturity-matrix/ [Accessed 4th April 2023]