title: Development of nutrition standards and therapeutic diet specifications for public hospitals in New South Wales.
abstract: In New South Wales (NSW), a new suite of nutrition standards for menus and specifications for therapeutic diets to be used in hospitals has been developed. These standards were required to facilitate centralised menu planning and food production, with the move to management of most hospital food services by HealthShare NSW, a state-wide business unit of NSW Health. The standards also aim to improve communication between health professionals, particularly with the increasing use of computerised meal-ordering systems. Nutrition standards have been developed for adult, paediatric and mental health inpatients, and specifications for 147 different adult and paediatric therapeutic diets. There is still significant variation in the nutrition standards for nutrition and therapeutic diets in hospitals across the Australian states, and a move to a more nationally harmonised approach would be welcome. Further research is required to examine the impact of these standards on operating efficiency and patient care outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, University Drive, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, Level 4, Sage Building, 67 Albert Avenue, Chatswood NSW 2067, Australia. Email: ;
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hazlewood
authors.affiliation: NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, Level 4, Sage Building, 67 Albert Avenue, Chatswood NSW 2067, Australia. Email: ;
authors.forename: Glen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D004035:Diet Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D005521:Food Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008612:Menu Planning / Q000592:standards*; D009517:New South Wales; D016730:Program Development; D064167:Recommended Dietary Allowances