The Ministry of Health wants to implement nutrition standards for pregnant and postpartum women in hospitals. The pilot is to cover the improvement of food quality, as well as dietary consultations, counseling and education.
The draft regulation specifying the conditions for the implementation of the pilot program “Standard of hospital nutrition for pregnant and postpartum women – Mother’s Diet” has just been consulted.
Feeding hospitalized patients is part of the guaranteed healthcare services (as an accompanying service). However, there are no legal acts specifying and standardizing this issue, e.g. with regard to the nutritional rate or nutritional standards. These issues are left to the discretion of hospital directors who are responsible for providing meals in their facilities.
In the justification of the draft, the ministry indicated that the ministry received demands regarding the need to legally regulate matters related to nutrition for patients. An example is the NIK audit report, which recommends, inter alia, developing a unified approach to the assessment of menus and meals in hospitals.
Pregnancy week after week
“In order to meet the expectations, the minister responsible for health decided to develop a standard that would comprehensively define the rules of hospital nutrition. Due to the pilot nature of the task, the standard will cover a selected group of patients, pregnant and postpartum women »- announced in the justification to the project.
It was emphasized that women expecting offspring should pay special attention to the quality and quantity of consumed meals. Their diet affects not only them, but also directly the developing organism of the child.
MZ notes that the Food and Nutrition Institute pays attention to the so-called fetal metabolic programming, according to which, already during pregnancy, it is possible to influence the increased or decreased risk of developing civilization diseases, including obesity, type XNUMX diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis and some cancers in a child.
The Ministry also reminds that the effects of nutrient deficiency in the fetal life are severe and may show up very early, in the form of an increased risk of miscarriage, premature births, intrauterine growth restriction and perinatal mortality of the newborn.
The Ministry admits that at present hospitals do not provide patients with a diet specially selected for their needs. «As a rule, women are given standard meals, served to all patients. Moreover, according to the information reaching the Ministry of Health, also via the media and social networks, they are often of insufficient quality (which is also confirmed by the audit report of the Supreme Audit Office) »- stated in the justification to the draft.
The pilot program assumes doubling the basic rate intended to finance the nutrition of the target group, and the remaining costs related to the implementation of the pilot program (e.g. nutritionist’s salary, educational activities) were set at 30%. food rate (PLN 18,20 in total).
The main goal of the pilot – as stated – is to implement an appropriate model of nutrition provided to pregnant women and in the postpartum period in hospital departments of neonatology, obstetrics and gynecology, gynecology, pregnancy pathology, obstetrics, obstetrics and neonatology, oncological gynecology, as well as promoting the principles of healthy eating.
The pilot will be able to be any entity having an agreement with the National Health Fund, which on its basis provides services in the field of inpatient treatment in the departments of neonatology, obstetrics and gynecology, gynecology, pathology of pregnancy, obstetrics, obstetrics and neonatology, and oncological gynecology.
According to the data of the National Health Fund, in total 2017 were hospitalized in the following departments: obstetrics and gynecology, gynecology, pathology of pregnancy, obstetrics and neonatology. 463 patients, and in 722 – 2018 thousand. 432.