CALHN’s consumer representatives were treated to a ‘hospital lunch’ and a visit from a Royal Adelaide Hospital chef during a governance work shop last week.
As part of the training workshop, lunch was provided by catering contractor Spotless giving the group the opportunity to provide feedback on the RAH’s in-patient menu offering – and it passed their taste test and that of CEO Lesley Dwyer who joined the group for lunch.
“I really enjoyed trying a meal a patient would receive. The temperature was excellent, it was pleasant to eat and a great serving,” said Rae,CALHN consumer representative.
Chef Melissa spoke to the group about texture-eliminated meals, nutritional and functional aspects, and key collaborations with nutrition and dietetic and speech pathology advisory groups.
Pictured: CEO Lesley Dwyer and Kevin tasting their ‘hospital lunch’
One of the trial lunch meals was a main of Persian lamb, cous cous and vegetable medley with green beans, a fresh bread roll with vanilla custard and fresh fruit for dessert.
“It was extremely tasty, the texture was good, and the vegetables were cooked to perfection,” says Jeanette, CALHN consumer representative.
Executive Director Corporate Affairs, Jani Baker who oversees the consumer partnering function for the network says the network values consumer feedback.
“Taste testing food like our consumers have today is just one way we are engaging with our consumer representatives to seek out their input.”
“At an organisational level, we are actively looking at how we can share decision making and governance with our consumers as we know it leads to better experiences and outcomes for the community and a health service that is more responsive to the needs of consumer,” said Jani.
Feedback from this taste testing will be used to iterate on the lunch menu offering, and the group will also be involved in testing a new 28-day menu for long term patients at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
