New rules to drive quality improvements for NHS food

The quality of food served in NHS hospitals is to be improved following the introduction of new mandatory standards announced this week.

New requirements include screening patients for malnutrition and devising tailored food plans, with efforts made to ensure they receive any help they may need to eat and drink. Food must also be sustainably sourced in order to ensure it is healthy and good for the industry.

Meanwhile, hospital canteens will be compelled to promote healthy diets for staff and visitors, with the food offered being compliant with government recommendations on salt, saturated fat and sugar content.

The new rules will be included in the NHS Standard Contract, making them legally-binding for hospitals. Additionally, hospitals will be ranked on the NHS Choices website for the quality of their food.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We are making the NHS more transparent, giving patients the power to compare food on wards and incentivising hospitals to raise their game."

Despite these pledges, the government plans have been criticised by the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, which said they are not ambitious enough, while also calling for greater public consultation on future efforts to improve standards in this area.