Production, and supply of food for patients
Dear Highland 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...
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.
Your request has been passed to a member of the FOI team who will be in
touch with an FOI reference number.
Thank you
The FOI Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Martyn
Thank you for your request for information. Your request is being handled
as a request for information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act 2002.
I will seek the information you request and respond in due course.
If you have any further questions regarding this request, please
email [1][NHS Highland request email] quoting the above reference.
Yours sincerely
Gary McCarthy
Freedom of Information Team
Assynt House | Beechwood Park | Inverness | IV2 3BW
Email: [2][NHS Highland request email]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Martyn Dewar <[FOI #1016580 email]>
Sent: 21 August 2023 01:05
To: foirequestshighland <[NHS Highland request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Production, and supply of food
for patients
Dear Highland 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:
[3]https://www.nss.nhs.scot/media/1097/1479...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1016580 email]
Is [NHS Highland request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Highland NHS Board? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[4]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[6]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[nhs%20highland%20request%20email]
2. mailto:[nhs%20highland%20request%20email]
3. https://www.nss.nhs.scot/media/1097/1479...
4. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
5. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
6. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
7. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Dear Mr Dewar
Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.
If you have any further questions regarding this response, please
email [1][NHS Highland request email] quoting the above reference.
Yours sincerely
Heather
Heather
Campbell
Freedom of
Information
Officer
Assynt House |
Beechwood Park
| Inverness |
IV2 3BW
Email: [2][NHS
Highland
request email]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. [NHS Highland request email]
mailto:[nhs%20highland%20request%20email]
2. [NHS Highland request email]
mailto:[nhs%20highland%20request%20email]
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now