Healthcare catering

What is healthcare catering?

Hospital catering involves producing meals for patients and staff working in healthcare establishments such as public hospitals. This catering service is subject to strict budgets defined by the Agences Régionales de Santé (ARS).

The medico-social sector also encompasses private healthcare establishments (clinics), nursing homes, rest homes and nursing homes for the elderly, as well as residential establishments for the dependent elderly (EHPAD), housing and social reintegration centers and ESATs (établissements et services d’aide par le travail).

Catering in the healthcare sector is unique in that it has to meet the daily needs of a highly heterogeneous population (short stays, long stays, special diets), including all full-board meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner).

Our best practices

It’s important to differentiate consumer expectations according to the type of structure in the medical-social sector.

In hospitals and clinics, catering services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for short, medium and long-stay patients. Residents here have high expectations in terms of culinary aspects and compliance with dietary requirements, with food and grams adapted to the patient’s age and pathology. The menu plan is generally drawn up over 3 or 4 weeks, with room service minimizing the social and relational function of meals.

Retirement homes or EHPAD (old people’s homes), on the other hand, focus more on rustic, local cuisine, where the “pleasure” aspect of the meal is just as important as the health aspect. Services are tailored to specific needs, particularly in terms of modified textures. Table service is preferred for this patient profile, as it develops muscular activity and maintains social ties between residents. The menu plan is developed over a period of 6 to 8 weeks, given the year-round nature of the service.

Finally, a home delivery service is being developed in the health catering sector for people with reduced mobility, who are often socially isolated. Meals are usually produced on a cold delivery basis, for better preservation and packaging in trays for easy reheating.

In general, menu development must be carried out in close collaboration with nutritionists and doctors specializing in each pathology, in order to support healing through diet. Different diets can be implemented according to the patient’s needs. For example, a sugar-free diet can be developed to restore blood carbohydrate levels in certain patients. Or a texture-modified diet for people with chewing or swallowing difficulties.