1 April 2010
Eating healthily, and eating well, are essential for patients recovering from illness or injury. With this in mind, the Trust has re-launched its 'protected mealtimes' initiative to make sure patients at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are given the time - and the attention from nursing staff - they require to eat their meals.
Pippa Hart is Director of Nursing and is in charge of the Trust's 1,888 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants. She explained: "'Protected mealtimes' are times set aside solely for patients who are in hospital to eat their meals.
"It may seem obvious, but hospitals are very busy places. Doctors and nurses do ward and medication rounds, we encourage friends and family to visit their loved ones, and - of course - patients have appointments when they're in hospital, too.
"'Protected mealtimes' for breakfast, lunch and dinner make sure that we all focus on food three times a day. It's about remembering how important a mealtime is, and making sure every patient gets to eat their meal with fewer distractions - just like they would at home.
"It means that nursing staff and therapists have the time to clear away clutter around the patients, for instance their magazines and books, to make sure they are comfortable, to assist them in eating their meals and, where necessary, to monitor their nutritional and fluid intake."
'Protected mealtimes' also mean that visiting patients during breakfast and lunch is restricted to only those visitors who are actively involved in feeding. They run from:
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Breakfast, from 7.30am - 8.30am;
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Lunch, from 12noon - 1pm.
To support the initiative, the Trust has issued a leaflet to every single member of staff - clinical and non-clinical - reminding them of the importance of protected meals and what they need to do to make it a success. In addition, information about the scheme is available on the Trust website for family and friends who are planning to visit patients in hospital.
Pippa added: "Together, we can make sure that all our patients are given the help, and the time, to eat - and enjoy - their meals uninterrupted. Not only is this more pleasant for them, it's also a key requirement for good nutrition which will help them to recover more quickly."
Inpatients at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are served a healthy breakfast, and for lunches and evening meals, they select their preferred choice of food from an extensive menu and their meal is brought to them at the appropriate time.
