Qualitative analysis of the implementation of a hospital room service in a large metropolitan hospital: foundations for transformation.

Introduction And Aims: Room service is a hospital meal service model with demonstrated improved nutrition intake, reduced wastage and cost benefits in some settings compared with traditional models. However, uptake across public hospital settings appears low; the underlying reasons require exploration. In 2019, room service was introduced in a Queensland Hospital and Health Service site.

Impact of room service on nutritional intake, plate and production waste, meal quality and patient satisfaction and meal costs: A single site pre-post evaluation.

Aim: Room service is a patient-focused foodservice model gaining interest in Australian hospitals following demonstrated patient and organisational benefits. This study aimed to compare nutritional intake, waste, patient satisfaction, meal costs and meal quality between a bought-in, thaw-retherm foodservice model and a cook-fresh, on-demand room service model at a large tertiary public hospital.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of quality assurance data compared thaw-retherm to room service.