Welcome to Coretalk

It has been a busy time at the healthyliving award (HLA). There have been some staff changes and we welcome Mark McVerry to the award team now Angela Kell, Assessment Co-ordinator, is on maternity leave. Mark has been quick to get up to speed on the award criteria and is keen to get on with the job in hand.

We have worked with various sectors of the NHS, and, in this edition of Coretalk, we take a snapshot of the types of caterers within the NHS we are already engaged with, and those we would like to work more closely with.

In this edition, you can also find out a little about diabetes, and will find links to tools that can help you assess your risk. We remind all registered businesses of the 6-month timeline to achieve the award on page 3. Finally, why not enjoy the delicious recipe from Lezzetli who recently re-achieved award status?

What’s cooking?

Partnership working with the NHS

When the healthyliving award was established in 2006, a number of hospitals embraced the award and were early adopters of its principles, achieving award status very quickly thereafter.

In 2008, as part of the Health Promoting Health Service concept, the Scottish Government tasked the NHS with achieving the healthyliving award in staff and visitor catering outlets across all acute and community hospitals. The details of this were outlined in a Chief Executive Letter in March 2008 (CEL 14).

The catering outlets were to achieve award status by March 2009, and healthyliving award plus status by March 2011. In 2012, another Chief Executive Letter was issued to address specific health promotion actions to support health improvement across all hospital settings, including the development of a consistent approach to healthy eating. All catering outlets in the NHS (including private, voluntary and 3rd sector) would be required to achieve a healthyliving award.

The healthyliving award team are keen to support the NHS and other organisations responsible for achieving award status. We can offer support to registered businesses in various ways, depending on the need of the establishment(s). This includes group information, a mentoring service, and assistance around criteria and product suitability.

We have excellent examples of good practice from within the NHS and would like to share these with caterers who feel this will be challenging. 136 NHS awards are held across various establishment types, including:

  • NHS in-house catered hospital
  • Dining rooms and coffee shops
  • Contract-managed workplace restaurants
  • Voluntary organisation-run coffee shops and tea bars

We are keen to encourage all caterers operating in the NHS who haven’t registered to do so, and to discuss any additional support needs with the HLA team.

Register today at www.healthylivingaward.co.uk/caterers/register-today

The award is not open to hospital patient catering.

The Health Promoting Health Service concept deems every healthcare contact as a health improvement opportunity. Health promotion offers a significant opportunity to improve health and reduce inequalities, complementing action in other settings.

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Food Service Sector
Involved in the food service sector and would like to know more? Click here
Customers
Do you sometimes want to eat healthily when eating out? Click here
issue 27:
Autumn 2013
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The healthyliving awardNHS Health Scotland - Scotland's health improvement agencyHealthier Scotland - Scottish GovernmentHealthier Scotland - Scottish Government