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Production, and supply of food for patients

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Dear Shetland 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...

shet foi (NHS Shetland), Shetland NHS Board

Dear Martyn,

We have received your freedom of information request and will process it accordingly under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).
Subject to any clarification required, we will provide a response to your request within 20 working days after the date that we received your original request as shown on email below (or, if received outside office hours, from the next date within office hours after that).
Should we require any clarification from you about your request, the 20-working-day period will start from the date we receive from you the additional information required to process your request.
Please get in touch if you require any further advice or assistance.

Kind regards,
FOI Officer
NHS Shetland Board Headquarters
Upper Floor Montfield
Burgh Road
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0LA
[NHS Shetland request email]

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shet foi (NHS Shetland), Shetland NHS Board

Dar Martyn

I am writing regarding your request made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) / Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EISR)] for information on food production.

Unfortunately, NHS Shetland has been unable to provide a response to your request within the required timescale. On behalf of NHS Shetland I would like to apologise for this delay, which has been caused by insert reasons. We will endeavour to provide you with a response by 16 October 2023.

As we did not respond to your request within the timescale required by FOISA/EISR, NHS Shetland is in breach of the legislation and, under FOISA s 20 / EISR reg 16 you are entitled to request a review of the way NHS Shetland has dealt with your request.

A request for review must be made in writing to Carolyn Hand, Corporate Services Manager, NHS Shetland, Board Headquarters, Upper Floor Montfield, Burgh Road, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0LA, or by email to [NHS Shetland request email] with the subject header ‘FOISA/EISR review request’, no later than 40 working days from the date of this notification. You must include your name, an address (or email address) for correspondence, details of your original request and the reason why you wish us to undertake the review.

If our decision is unchanged following a review and you remain dissatisfied with this, you then have the right to ask for advice and assistance, or make a formal appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. An appeal to the Commissioner should be made within six months of this notice.

Please get in touch if you require any further advice or assistance.

Kind regards,

Rose Ford
FOI Officer
NHS Shetland Board Headquarters
Upper Floor Montfield
Burgh Road
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0LA
[NHS Shetland request email]

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shet foi (NHS Shetland), Shetland NHS Board

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  • Attachment

    2023 10 13 1031 2023 292 NHS Shetland Response.pdf

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    2023 10 13 1026 2023 292 Patient Food Production.zip

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Dear Martyn

I am writing regarding your request made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) / Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EISR).

Please find NHS Shetland’s response to your request attached.

I trust that this response is to your satisfaction. However, if you are dissatisfied with how NHS Shetland has managed your request, under FOISA s 20 / EISR reg 16 you may request a review.

A request for review must be made in writing to Carolyn Hand, Corporate Services Manager, NHS Shetland, Board Headquarters, Upper Floor Montfield, Burgh Road, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0LA, or by email to [NHS Shetland request email] with the subject header ‘FOISA/EISR review request’, no later than 40 working days from the date of this notification. You must include your name, an address (or email address) for correspondence, details of your original request and the reason why you wish us to undertake the review.

If our decision is unchanged following a review and you remain dissatisfied with this, you then have the right to ask for advice and assistance or to make a formal appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS. An appeal to the Commissioner should be made within six months of this notice.
Please get in touch if you require any further advice or assistance.

Kind regards,

Rose Ford
FOI Officer
NHS Shetland Board Headquarters
Upper Floor Montfield
Burgh Road
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0LA
[NHS Shetland request email]

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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.