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Production, and supply of food for patients

Martyn Dewar made this Freedom of Information request to Grampian Health Board as part of a batch sent to 15 authorities This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

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Martyn Dewar
Delivered

Dear Grampian Health 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...

Link to this Report
GRAM Foi, Grampian Health Board

 OFFICIAL

Dear Mr Dewar,

 

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

 

Thank you for your email dated 21 August 2023, requesting information
regarding catering. We have recorded this request and are currently
processing it in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002.

 

A response to your request for information is due by 18 September 2023.
Please allow for delivery time.

 

We will contact you again in due course.

Best wishes,

 

Katarzyna

 

Katarzyna Smith

Information Governance Officer

Information Governance Team

 

NHS Grampian

Rosehill House

Cornhill Road

Aberdeen

AB25 2ZG

 

Phone: 01224 551319

[NHS Grampian request email]

 

OFFICIAL

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

From: Martyn Dewar <[FOI #1016578 email]>
Sent: 21 August 2023 01:05
To: GRAM Foi <[NHS Grampian request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Production, and supply of food
for patients
 
Dear Grampian Health 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:
[1]https://www.nss.nhs.scot/media/1097/1479...

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Link to this Report
GRAM Foi, Grampian Health Board

7 Attachments

Dear Mr Dewar

 

Please find attached response to your request.

 

Regards

 

Chris

 

Chris Morrice

Senior Information Governance Officer

NHS Grampian

Rosehill House

ARI

AB25 2ZG

 

Email: [email address]

 

 

 

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This email is intended for the named recipient only. If you have received
it by mistake,
please (i) contact the sender by email reply; (ii) delete the email from
your system; .
and (iii) do not copy the email or disclose its contents to anyone.

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Link to this Report
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.