UNISON's NHS in Scotland Food for Good Charter
The NHS in Scotland is one of the biggest
caterers in the country providing food to tens on thousands
of patients and staff every day. Whilst food hygiene has always
been a top priority catering budgets have in the past been
seen as areas where costs can be driven down, pennies saved
and subsequently quality reduced. This is no longer acceptable
in 2003.
Every year the Scottish NHS spends millions
of pounds on produce to feed NHS patients, visitors and staff.
This massive purchasing power should be used to influence
the Scottish food economy and diet for the good of all.
There is a positive 'NHS Food for Good' agenda
that the NHS in Scotland should adopt to deliver on the Scottish
Executive's healthy eating policy in their current 'Healthy
Living Campaign' and wider social concerns. That is why UNISON
is launching our 10-point charter and asking the people of
Scotland to back us in our campaign for its adoption by the
Scottish Parliament.
We have consulted with a numner of different
organisations who have given us the benefit of their expertise
in drawing up this charter. We thank them for their help and
advice. However it remains UNISON's policy and responsibility.
ORGANICS
The NHS should set itself the target of sourcing
10% of all supplies from organic producers by 2005 and 25%
by 2010. By 2007 patients and staff should have a daily option
of an organic main meal. The NHS should actively engage with
all its suppliers with regards to the use of pesticides, steroids,
antibiotics and additives to attempt to positively manage
their reduction whilst at all times ensuring food quality
and safety. Similarly whilst there is major public scepticism
about Genetically Modified foods and concerns about their
risks the NHS should avoid the use of GM products.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Animal produce supplied to the NHS should
be sourced where possible from farm assured schemes such as
the RSPCA Freedom Food Scheme, Quality Meat Scotland or organic
schemes with the following targets being set, 25% by 2005
and 100% by 2010. Care should be taken to source as much animal
produce as possible from within the UK, in order to avoid
buying from intensive rearing systems abroad which would fall
far short of UK standards. This is particularly relevant in
the case of imported chicken and egg products. The Scottish
people have a long track record of animal welfare concern
and the NHS should seek to be an exemplar in the food economy.
Its bulk buying power can significantly increase the demand
and thus the economies of scale of quality assured food that
would make it more affordable to all.
MEAT QUALITY
Much produce available to the mass catering
market is produced from low quality meat, saturated fat and
additives, a sausage can have the following contents: 50%
meat of which 30% is pork fat with a bit of jowl, and 20%
mechanically recovered chicken meat, 17% water, 30% rusk and
Soya, Soya concentrate, hydrogenised protein, modified flower,
dried onion, sugar, dextrose, phosphates, preservative E221
sodium sulphate, flavour enhancer, spices, garlic flavouring,
antioxidant E3000 (ascorbic acid), colouring E128 (red 2g);
casings made from Collagen and cow hide. It should be guaranteed
that the meat and poultry sourced by the NHS should be of
a high quality, with high meat contents and low fat and added
water content.
FAIR TRADE
Fair trade offers producers of many raw products
in the developing world a fair guaranteed price for their
produce thus removing them from the vagaries of the world
commodity market and helping them to help themselves. If fair-trade
tea and coffee is good enough for our parliamentarians it
should be good enough for NHS patients and staff. As an immediate
step all tea and coffee supplied at corporate events where
catering is provided should be fair trade, additionally fair
trade tea and coffee should be available to buy in canteens.
By 2005 the NHS should seek to source 10% of goods from fair-trade
suppliers where there is a supplier for that commodity and
by 50% by 2010. Additionally the NHS in Scotland should actively
avoid purchasing goods from companies who promote, especially
in developing countries, powdered milk to the detriment of
breast feeding.
FIVE PORTIONS A DAY
The Scottish NHS has led the way in terms
of providing healthy options on every menu. However as a major
employer providing often the main meal of the day for tens
of thousands of patients and staff more resources need to
be put into making healthy food more enticing, accessible
and varied. Lessons can be learned from Scandinavian countries
in terms of the value of berries in our diet and they should
be available for every meal. Scotland as major producer of
raspberries should be using our natural resource as a health
improvement tool. As the Scottish Executive sets standards
for school meals and reduces the access to chips in its report
'Hungry for Success - A whole school approach to School meals
in Scotland' parents should not be let off the hook. Scotland's
biggest public service and employer needs to lead by example.
Other healthy diet initiatives such as upping the consumption
of oily fish high in Omega 3 and cutting salt intake should
also be pursued by the NHS.
RECYCLING/COMPOSTING
The patients and staff of Scotland's NHS
produce thousands of tons of catering waste from tin cans
to banana skins. As landfill taxes rise and the availability
of landfill sites declines the NHS should be leading the way
in terms of recycling, reducing waste and composting. Working
in conjunction with Scotland's local authorities the NHS should
investigate ways it can reduce waste and increase recycling.
Additionally the Scottish NHS should strive to reduce the
food miles travelled by its supplies by setting targets for
sourcing food locally where possible.
As an immediate step all canteens, hospitals
and wards should have recycling receptacles for cans, bottles
and cups; take away cartons should be constructed from renewable
sources.
PATIENTS NOT PROFIT
The provision of nutritious and safe food
to patients should always be the number one priority. Privatisation
of catering services ensures that profit becomes the number
one priority. The Scottish NHS should call an immediate moratorium
on the privatisation of any more NHS catering services and
should seek to return those currently privatised to public
control and ownership. The return of many catering services
to in-house provision over the last year or so illustrates
the failures of the private sector in providing this service.
Hover this charter's adoption should be mandatory those remaining
private contractors operating in the NHS in Scotland today.
The number one priority governing NHS food should be its contribution
to health and welfare of patients and staff, not costs.
RESOURCES
No longer should NHS catering budgets be
the first call for savings and seen as a non-core overhead
always to be suppressed. Food for good and food for health
requires resourcing that the Scottish Executive should provide
the NHS with sufficient funds to meet this Food for Good charter
and to continue to innovate as a beacon service for the people
of Scotland.
REAL FOOD
Scottish patients deserve fresh food produced
on the day of consumption by local chefs using where possible
local produce. The move to mass produced factory catering
and often transporting it long distances by road is a regressive
step and one which has been poorly received by the consumers:
patients, staff and visitors. When a patient is recuperating
food is often a make or break experience in terms of moral
during a hospital stay. The Scottish NHS should be aiming
for satisfaction every time; this can only be achieved by
producing real food locally. As an immediate step the Scottish
NHS should not commission any new cook chill and cook freeze
production facitilites in the NHS. A full review of existing
facilities should be carried out.
It is also vital that catering services are
equipped with the resources, knowledge and sensitivities to
respond to cultural and minority ethnic diet needs in line
with the Scottish Executive's Fair for All strategy. Local
production also enables a far more flexible response to special
diets such as gluten free, nut allergy, vegan and other diets.
FAIR PAY
The Scottish NHS should seek to retain and
recruit a well motivated highly trained workforce in its kitchen,
therefore they should enter into negotiations with UNISON
to achieve a satisfactory pay deal for Chefs and Associated
Staff.
For more information, or to join UNISON,
contact: Simon MacFarlane, Lead Officer for Ancillary workers,
UNISON, West Campbell St., Glasgow G2 6RX. Tel 0845 355 0845.
e-mail s.macfarlane@unison.co.uk
Aug 2003
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