Mossman Hospital serving up quality food with care
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Hospitals often get a bad rap when it comes to food but that is not the case at Mossman District Hospital where patients report that the food served is well above average.
A team of dedicated local staff members are cooking up a storm in the kitchen bringing quality meals to patients to support speedy recoveries.
Dietitian at Mossman District Hospital, Sue Swanson, said the difference in Mossman is that the operational services team in the kitchen are committed to making sure everyone is eating well.
“It's important that the food is nutrient-dense; that is a lot of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and, energy in small volumes,” she said.
“Often people in hospital don't feel very hungry, so having small volumes with good nutrition is very important.”
Ms Swanson added that 35 per cent of patients that are admitted to Mossman Hospital are malnourished.
“Malnutrition affects the length of stay, the healing process, and re-admission rates so malnourished patients take longer to get better and they tend to come back more often.
“So good nutrition is really important and hugely beneficial to recovery.”
She added that patients receive three meals along with three snacks daily with all meals prepared fresh on-site.
“As the Dietitian, my job is to support the kitchen around nutritional content but also to assess that people are getting enough food.”
“The whole team values keeping people well-nourished, so while the kitchen work very hard to make great meals and present meals that people actually like to eat, nursing also support nutrition as well, making sure everyone is available during meal times to eat while meals are hot.”
“State-wide there's been a push around improving the nutrition available in hospitals but in Mossman, it has always been good quality food because it is prepared with care and I think that sets us apart,” Ms Swanson said.
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