We found out who makes up the menu in hospitals and what dishes will not be served in hospitals

Photo courtesy of the Berezinskaya Central District Hospital Criticism of food in hospital canteens is a favorite topic of some bloggers, who now and then raise a storm of emotions around a plate of soup or porridge. Quite recently, the "meager" food in the Brest Regional Hospital was actively discussed and commented on on TIKTOK . The regional executive committee responded by explaining the difference between hospital and restaurant food. We, in turn, asked how the diet is formed and the menu is developed in medical institutions.

"All carbohydrates"? A clear exaggeration!

One of the patients of the Brest Regional Hospital posted a photo of her lunch on a social network and captioned it: "All carbohydrates from potatoes, pasta and bread." Although on the plate next to the pasta we see MEAT , as well as boiled beans and carrots , containing microelements and fiber, which helps cleanse the intestines of waste and toxins. Pasta and beans may be an unusual combination, but the balance of carbohydrates, protein and fiber is maintained. Another photo shows vegetable soup, not as rich and filling as at home, rather dietary, and the second course is vegetable stew of stewed potatoes with meat and carrots, fresh cabbage salad. There may not be much meat, which upsets the patient, but the portion is quite large. The photo, which shows a portion of fish with boiled potatoes, is accompanied by the caption: "Mackerel every day, bitter, smelly, impossible to eat."

Opinions in the comments are traditionally divided into two camps: some support the author, others write that they recently stayed in this hospital and are fed normally there, there is enough food.

The Brest Regional Executive Committee also responded to the video on TikTok, noting that a hospital is not a restaurant, the main condition is the HEALTH benefits of the food, taking into account the health characteristics. Dietary nutrition is an integral component of the treatment process and preventive measures, it includes rations with an established chemical composition and energy value. The department clarified:fish is present in the hospital menu no more than three times a week, and not every day. The regional hospital does an analysis of nutritional standards every month, they are observed. And they conduct a survey, finding out how patients rate the food in the cafeteria of the medical institution.

Oatmeal with dried apricots - unusual, but tasty and healthy

Everyone has different taste preferences. For someone who last ate MILK porridge in kindergarten, semolina for breakfast in the hospital cafeteria can cause a shock. The body requires familiar food - coffee with sandwiches or fried sausage with an omelet. An adult takes this into account when going to the hospital and realizing that they will not feed you like at home, they will take their favorite snacks - yogurts, fruits or cheese with sausage. Or a piece of smoked brisket, like my neighbor in the ward, for whom the hospital food was not enough. And you can’t get rid of the habit of eating meat three times a day, often consuming fatty, salty, refined products at once.
 
Recently I was treated at the 11th City Clinical Hospital of MINSK and I have not yet forgotten the taste of the dishes from the treatment menu: vegetable soup, fish pudding, potato stew with carrots and meat with lightly salted cucumber, boiled potatoes with steamed chicken, omelet, oatmeal with whole dried apricots. Everything is fresh and quite filling. True, some dishes seem bland when you are not used to it. At home, you add aromatic spices to the stew, fried onions and carrots to the soup, so that the taste is brighter. But this is at home, and for a sick body, gentle hospital food is a blessing, so you treat it with understanding. And trust: the menu is compiled by a nutritionist taking into account all the characteristics of the body, maintaining a balance of calories and useful microelements. The products undergo gentle technological processing thanks to modern equipment.
In winter and summer, the dishes are different

I suppose that someone will definitely object: in the capital, they cook deliciously, and the equipment is modern. That's why I contacted the Berezinskaya Central District Hospital. It is not something special: an ordinary, run-of-the-mill central district hospital. The kitchen block was renovated in 2016.

 - Then we completely updated the equipment, installed modern convection ovens, electric stoves, an oven and a refrigerator, food processors, - says the HEAD nurse of the Berezinskaya Central District Hospital, Tatyana Lipnitskaya. - We bought thermoses for transporting cooked food.
It is delivered to the departments of the central district hospital, as well as to the Dmitrovichskaya and Pogostskaya district hospitals. The menu is developed by nurse-nutritionist Elena Sokolovskaya, it is approved by the head physician and the district center of hygiene and epidemiology.

- There are two types of menu: summer-autumn and winter-spring. Now and in autumn it has more fresh seasonal vegetables, while in winter and spring there is more pickling - cucumbers, cabbage, as well as boiled vegetables, vinaigrettes, salads from raw cabbage, carrots, apples, - says Elena Vladimirovna. - When compiling a diet for a week, the chemical composition is taken into account - proteins, fats and carbohydrates, the balance of these components is maintained. A set of necessary products is selected in compliance with the nutritional standards for one patient per day and taking into account medical indications and dietary prescriptions determined by the DOCTOR. There is an accepted classification of diets by age categories of patients - for children of different ages and adults, for pregnant and nursing mothers.
Patients of the Berezinskaya Central District Hospital do not complain about the quality of food and the size of portions.

- We conduct a survey constantly, we ask you to fill out questionnaires in order to identify shortcomings in time, if any, and know what to pay special attention to. Patients often praise and thank us: the food is fresh, everything is hot. Many say that it is not always so tasty at home, - adds Tatyana Lipnitskaya. - Nutrition is one of the important moments in the recovery process, so we pay a lot of attention to it.

On Monday's menu, for example, for breakfast there is rice porridge and cottage cheese casserole, tea, bread with cheese. For lunch - pickle soup, buckwheat with a steamed chicken cutlet and beetroot salad. For dinner - mashed potatoes and carrots with a cutlet.

They care not only about making it tasty and healthy, but also aesthetically pleasing. Recently, they bought porcelain dishes for the obstetrics department, they plan to update them in the therapeutic department as well. Beauty also contributes to recovery, the doctors are convinced.

Reference. The procedure for organizing dietary nutrition in medical institutions is approved by the Resolution of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus (No. 106 of November 21, 2019, last year the document was updated and supplemented - this is Resolution No. 28 of February 10, 2023). It contains tables with a list of standard diets, norms of the average daily set of products per patient, their nutritional and energy value. It is indicated how much, depending on the type of diet, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, etc. should be in the diet. For example, milk , liquid fermented milk products, butter and vegetable oil , meat, bread, cereals, vegetables, fresh fruits or juices, SUGAR are included in the diet daily. Other food products (including fish, poultry, eggs , cheese,cottage cheese ) - at least twice a week. You can study the document in more detail on the legal portal pravo.by.

Anna MASLYAKOVA,
photos provided by Berezinskaya CRH.