Protected Mealtimes

The National Reporting and Learning Service (NRLS) has undertaken a review of the Protected Mealtimes Initiative (PMI) to establish its uptake across acute trusts in England and Wales. It also aimed to identify the barriers to and critical success factors in its implementation.

The review found that PMI uptake varied between hospitals and between wards. There were also inconsistencies around which mealtime services are protected and in the type of clinical area that had introduced Protected Mealtimes. Barriers to implementation included ward rounds, diagnostic tests, visitors and other healthcare professionals.

Recommendations included:

• That the NRLS share the report with the Royal Colleges and other relevant professional organisations.
  
• Encouraging all NHS staff to report patients’ missed meals to the NRLS.
  
• Encouraging them to implement Protected Mealtimes to improve patient safety at mealtimes.
  
• That healthcare inspectors should include the implementation  of Protected Mealtimes as part of their healthcare standards

View PMI videos on YouTube:

• Protected mealtimes: part 1

• Protected mealtimes: part 2