Dietitians and catering staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital celebrated Dietitians Week 2016 (6 – 10 June) with a week long programme of special events.

The focus of this week was to highlight the professional role of dietitians and promote good nutritional care in hospitals.  Displays were organised to raise awareness of the importance of good hydration, staff health and showcase the varied work of acute dietitians in clinical areas such as stroke, cancer and renal disease.

People had the opportunity to calculate their BMI and see and sample a range of snacks, supplements and tube feeds used in the hospital to support good nutrition.

Caroline Speirs, Dietitian at Forth Valley Royal Hospital said: “As Dietitians, we assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems on a patient-by-patient basis. It is therefore vitally important that we have the strong relationship that we do with all members of the healthcare team, including the hospital catering team, in order that we can work together to ensure each patient receives the best all-round care to aid their recovery.” 2

Fresh dairy samples, including yoghurt and ice-cream, accompanied by the first local strawberries of the season, were handed out by Serco catering staff and local supplier Graham’s Family Dairy.

Anne Davidson, Serco’s Catering Manager at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, and recently crowned Scottish FM Professional of the Year, said: “Our main aim is to support the NHS in delivering the best possible patient care and when it comes to patient food, we work closely with our NHS Forth Valley Dietitian colleagues to ensure that meals are well balanced and meet national nutritional standards as well as being fresh and tasty.

“We offer sixteen different patient menus to accommodate all clinical requirements and patient preference. The feedback from this tasting session has been wonderful with many requests for some new additions to the menu!”