06 Dec 2019 02:55 AM

ROLE OF CATERING SERVICES IN HOSPITALS

Diet is an essential part while recuperating from a major illness or surgery. All leading hospitals provide nutritious and healthy diet food based on the requirement of the patient in the hospital itself.The hospital catering services play a very crucial role in providing suitable diet food for patients who are hospitalized for long or short periods of time. A lot of factors are kept in mind while providing services to the hospitals and patients. Maximum attention is given to preparing food that is tasty, safe and nutritional in a hygienic manner. Some of the strong points of healthcare catering should be the use of certified ingredients, efficient handling and distribution of meal orders, expert management of food at appropriate temperatures, modern food preparation methods and specialized human resources. Great effort and care are taken to buy fresh produce like fruits, vegetables, leafy greens on a daily basis as is the case with dairy products like milk, curds, butter, etc. The meals are freshly prepared by professional chefs and their teams.Once the food is prepared, highly trained staff delivers the food to the concerned patients effectively and on time as meal times cannot be compromised or delayed. Hospital Food Catering offers a wide array of nutritious and delicious meals from different cultures according to the dietary needs and tastes of the patient, which will help the patient to recover faster. All the recommendations and changes made by the dieticians are notified to the hospital catering department and the necessary changes are made regarding the patient’s diet, and accordingly sent to the patients. To cater to the palette of the patients, a wide variety of dishes are prepared so, that the patients do not become bored of eating the same thing day in and day out. Extended choices are also offered to long-stay patients.The menu and meals are planned based on the dietary requirement of the patients. Some of the diet plans that hospital catering services cater for hospitals are as follows:

• High-calorie high protein diet.
• Renal diets.
• Cardiac diets.
• Diabetic food.
• Liver-friendly diets.
• Fresh soup.
• Menus for the Paediatric Department.
• Meals for relatives of patients (visitors).
• Staff meal (for hospital staff).

Hospital catering services should be able to recognize the nutrition value of food for the patient ’s treatment. High-quality food is essential for the recovery of the patient.Menus are developed by working with the chief dietician to help the patient select the right food for their individual needs.A variety of choice in food is given to the patients by the food catering contractors:

• The patient’s choice is given priority by regularly updating the menus and then offering various seasonal options.
• Generate interest and enthusiasm by eliminating the stereotyped opinions about hospital food.
• Based on the seasonal variations in produce like fruits and vegetables provide weekly menus.When a menu is being planned, it is essential to keep the therapeutic requirement of the patient.
• As the food is being prepared for patients, it is essential to make the food to not only taste good but also to look more appetizing and interesting by working on the presentation of the food by using color combinations, texture, etc.

In conclusion, hospital food catering provides service to both inpatient and outpatient facilities and guides them regarding their diet.On a regular basis, important changes are being made in the concerned departments to satisfy the needs of the patients and the different healthcare centers. Dieticians regularly supervise the stores and kitchen area to make sure that the food preparation is being done hygienically. Hospitals provide healthcare service to the public. The food service facilities need to be on par for early recovery of patients. Hospital catering services need to stay focussed and committed to providing delicious and nutritious food of the highest quality and standards not only to the hospital staff and patients but also to the patients visitors as well.