‘Food is medicine’: Fun and friendly competition during Malnutrition Awareness Week helps promote important message

Celebrity Chef Alastair McLeod helped spread the message of the importance of good food in hospital.

Celebrity Chef Alastair McLeod has joined the team at RBWH last week for International Malnutrition Awareness Week (16-20 September,) encouraging a focus on nutrition in patient care.

Reducing malnutrition in the health care system reduces lengths of stay and chances of readmission, making it a top priority for the RBWH team.

Malnutrition occurs as a result of inadequate nutritional intake causing changes to a person’s body composition, including muscle mass, and impacting on their functional status – the ability to do their usual daily activities.

“Food is medicine and we see a direct correlation between eating well and getting out of hospital quicker,” said dietitian Team Leader Elise Treleaven.

Alastair spent the week at RBWH, spreading the message of the importance of good food in hospital. He spent time in the kitchen to identify small things that can be done to improve the food, as well as encouraging and inspiring food services staff, who serve up 700 meals three times daily.

“This is the busiest restaurant I’ve ever worked in,” joked Alastair.

“It’s so wonderful to be in the company of hundreds of people who have empathy and kindness about what they do.”

There was a recipe competition by staff to come up with the ‘best new high-calorie and protein snack’ for patients – the winning items are chocolate swirl brownie, cranberry oat slice, and ham and pickle bread by dietetic assistant Bruce, dietitian Brooke, and cook Scott. These will now feature as a regular on the menu.

Wards got into the spirit with their creative displays promoting nutrition and malnutrition prevention. Winners 9BS had an Alice in Wonderland theme, including a Mad Hatters Tea Party for patients and 7AN made their ward ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Good Nutrition.’ Runners Up and Highly Commended went to wards 8AN, Radiation Oncology and 9AN.