Setting an example: food and health policy within the National Health Service

The factors involved in implementing Food and Health Policieswithin the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) havebeen examined with special reference to three District HealthAuthorities which have pioneered work in this area. A pointof view is presented of the standardized approaches developedfor education programmes aimed at stimulating interest and increasingthe knowledge of consumers and health educators, and of thepractical dietary modifications required in adapting recipesof traditional dishes and in decreasing or replacing unsuitablemenu choices. The level of commitment and practical limitationsof the catering departments can be identified as the most frequentrate-determining element in policy implementation. However,the necessary changes can often be presented to catering departmentsas interesting challenges with possible financial advantages.The structure of the NHS offers particular opportunities forestablishing and evaluating Food and Health Policy: staff frommany disciplines can become involved in a programme of preventivemedicine which is also likely to lead to improvements in patient-carenetworks. Organization at district level, however, has tendedto result in duplication of effort, errors and costs. Althoughstudies to evaluate Food and Health Policies have been designedin most districts, to date these have tended to concentrateon catering aspects. Full assessment of the policies will onlybe possible if standardised methods of evaluation are integratedinto all stages of implementation programmes.