We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Martyn Dewar please sign in and let everyone know.

Production, and supply of food for patients

We're waiting for Martyn Dewar to read recent responses and update the status.

Dear Borders NHS Board,

I am writing to make a formal request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, for information held by your Trust about the food production methods and catering procedures employed within the Trust's healthcare facilities.

For the purposes of clarity, I am referring to food that is prepared for, or otherwise supplied to patients by the Trust. This would likely, predominantly, be food supplied to in-patients; but it may well also include any restaurants supplied by your catering department (e.g., Aroma Coffee Houses, or cafés, where supplied).

## Food Production Methods:

RFI 1: Does the Trust produce food for patients in-house? If so, please clarify whether this is carried out on a central site (e.g., central production unit), or within each individual hospital. If there is a mixture of both, please clarify, where possible.

RFI 2: If food is not produced in-house, please provide details on whether it is produced by a third-party facilities contractor (e.g., under a PFI agreement), or purchased from external sources, in frozen (or chilled) format.

Where possible, for RFI 1 and 2, please also clarify the arrangements for delivery-to-patient (e.g., is the food supplied to wards and then reheated on-site, or is some other reheating method used).

RFI 3: For in-patient meals, what is the average cost per meal, to the Trust?

## Recipe and Cooking Method Information:

RFI 4: In the event that the Trust produces food in-house, please supply a copy of the recipes, and cooking / preparation methods utilised by the catering department for standardised food items. I would imagine that this information would be readily available, owing to standardisation of menu items [1].

This would include information on ingredients, preparation steps, cooking temperatures, and any relevant nutritional considerations (e.g., it might be noted on menus that certain items are suitable for those on restricted diets, or that some menu items have specific allergens).

RFI 5: If you do not produce food in-house, please confirm whether you hold standardised information as to what items are available (e.g., menus, and nutritional / allergen information), and supply a copy, where possible.

My preference would be to receive any correspondence electronically (as afforded under §11(2)(a) of FoISA), ideally in a format that allows for contents to be interpreted using screen reading software.

If the Trust intends to supply redacted correspondence, I should be grateful if it would ensure that the text itself is "readable", e.g., by ensuring that content is not supplied merely in image format. Similarly, if there is data held in a spreadsheet format, please supply Excel or CSV files - a PDF may, for example, not allow for easy interpretation of the data.

I would hope that the bulk of this information is readily available, given the standardised nature of hospital catering services; however, if it is likely that a "costs" issue will come into play, I would be happy, in the first instance, to limit my request solely to your in-patient facilities (e.g. excluding any retail / staff catering offer).

I look forward to hearing from you within the statutory timescale, however, should you require any clarity, please do not hesitate in contacting me.

Yours faithfully,

Martyn Dewar

[1] In line with the Scottish Government's National Catering and Nutrition specification for Food and Fluid provision: https://www.nss.nhs.scot/media/1097/1479...

Freedom of Information (NHS Borders), Borders NHS Board

Thank you for your enquiry, we will reply promptly, and, in any event, a response will be sent no later than 18 September 2023.

Freedom of Information
NHS Borders

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information (NHS Borders), Borders NHS Board

Dear Mr Dewar

Further to your recent request I am sorry to say that we are unable to comply with your request for question 4 & 5 due to the large volume of data that would be involved and the time required to process the data prior to release. Therefore under Section 15 Duty to Provide Advice and Assistance can you confirm if you would be happy to receive a number of sample recipes, and cooking / preparation methods including information on ingredients, preparation steps, cooking temperatures, and any relevant nutritional considerations that we are able to process within the Cost of Compliance?

Many thanks

Freedom of Information
NHS Borders

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information (NHS Borders), Borders NHS Board

1 Attachment

Please find attached a response to your recent FOI application. Please note, as we did not receive clarification for questions 4 & 5, only information for Questions 1 - 3 are included in the response.

Freedom of Information
NHS Borders

show quoted sections

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Martyn Dewar please sign in and let everyone know.