May 28, Colombo (LNW): The Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Medical Nutrition Association (SLMNA), is set to enhance the quality and presentation of meals provided to in-patients at government hospitals.
Dr. Nalinda Herath, President of the SLMNA and a noted nutritionist, announced that under the new initiative, in-patient meals will be packaged in trays with rice and curries arranged separately.
These trays will be covered with a transparent wrapper and delivered directly to the patient’s bedside.
The new initiative will commence with a pilot project at Maharagama Apeksha Hospital in July, before being rolled out to all government hospitals nationwide.
Furthermore, Dr. Herath revealed that chefs from five-star hotels will offer specialised training to hospital kitchen staff.
These staff members will also receive special uniforms, ensuring high standards of food hygiene are maintained.
Additionally, the hospital employees responsible for food delivery will be provided with new uniforms, and the meals will be delivered directly to the patients’ bedsides.
This marks a significant improvement over the current system, where patients must collect their meals from food trolleys.
