Nutrition factsheets

This series of factsheets sets out the 10 key characteristics of good nutritional care in healthcare environments.

Care providers should:

1. Deliver food service and nutritional care safely.
2. Maintain an environment conducive to people enjoying their meals and being able to safely consume their food and drinks. (In hospitals this is known as ‘Protected Mealtimes’.) 
3. Support a multi-disciplinary approach to nutritional care, and value the contribution of staff, service users, carers and volunteers.
4. Include guidance on food service and nutritional care in service delivery and accountability arrangements. 
5. Screen all patients and service-users to identify malnourishment or risk of malnourishment. 
6. Design facilities and services which are centred on the needs of the people using them. 
7. Create a personal care or support plan for each patient or service-user, and give them input to identify their nutritional care and fluids needs.
8. Ensure that staff and volunteers have appropriate skills and competencies, and receive regular training. 
9. Involve patients and service-users in planning and monitoring arrangements for food services and drinks provision. 
10. Create a policy for food service and nutritional care which is centred on the needs of users.