Two Laois hospitals taste success for cooking healthy meals

Two hospitals in Laois are celebrating after their commitment to creating healthy menus for staff and visitors was recognised at a national ceremony.

The Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise is a gold winner at the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Awards for the nutritious choices on offer at its catering units.

St Vincent's Hospital in Mountmellick won bronze at the awards which recognise the efforts hospital and healthcare settings make to provide nutritious meals to staff and visitors.

The Happy Heart Healthy Eating Awards have been running for over 25 years, and are a joint initiative of the Irish Heart Foundation and the HSE. 

At the awards ceremony, which took place on November 28 at the Gibson Hotel, Dublin, Irish Heart Foundation CEO Emma Balmaine congratulated the winners. 

“The Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award programme has been the flagship of our health promotion initiatives for several decades now which we have been able to develop with support from the HSE," she said.

"It provides a comprehensive range of individual and environmental approaches to promote healthier choices and behaviours. 

“Healthcare workplaces are ideal settings to promote healthy eating because many people eat one if not two meals per day at work. The World Health Organisation identifies the workplace as one of the best places to positively influence people’s cardiovascular risk through encouraging and promoting healthy eating and other healthy behaviours.”

Studies show that a healthy and balanced diet and an active lifestyle help reduce the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. These chronic conditions, and indeed our food choices, are strongly shaped by wider determinants of health such as our food environment.

With the number of people eating outside of the home on the rise, healthcare sites in Co Laois, who prepare hot food for staff and visitors on-site are encouraged to get involved in the awards programme and increase the healthy offerings on their menus. 

“Our staff in the HSE are our most valuable resource – supporting their health and wellbeing in the workplace is a key priority for us in the Health Services,” said Sarah O’Brien, National Lead for the Healthy Eating Active Living programme in the HSE.

“Creating a healthier food environment and providing healthier options at mealtimes supports our staff to make the healthy choice the easy choice. The awards recognise the hard work and dedication to quality improvement and those sites that are committed to prioritising the development of environments that support healthy eating.”

The criteria include limiting the availability of foods and drinks high in saturated fat, salt and sugar, monitoring portion sizes and promoting the availability of high-fibre foods, healthier counter display and vending machine contents. 

In total, 21 healthcare sites across Ireland, providing healthier meals for almost 18,000 health service employees, were honoured this year for their commitment to healthy food choices on their menus.

Fifteen units achieved gold awards for creating a healthier food environment, two sites received silver awards for their meal choices, and four were bronze winners. 

The Gold winners are below: 

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South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Cork

Cork University Hospital, Cork

St. Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork

St. Stephen’s Hospital, Cork

Saint John of God Carmona Services, Dublin

St. Vincent’s Private Hospital, Dublin

Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin

St. Vincent’s University Hospital Elm Park, Dublin

St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview, Dublin

Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, Laois

Portiuncula University Hospital Ballinasloe, Galway

Bon Secours Hospital, Galway

St. John’s Hospital, Limerick

Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, Limerick

University Maternity Hospital, Limerick

Our Lady’s Hospital Navan, Meath

University Hospital Kerry, Kerry

Sligo University Hospital, Sligo

St. Joseph’s Hospital, Clare

St. Camillus’ Hospital, Limerick

Roscommon University Hospital, Roscommon

Mayo University Hospital, Mayo

University Hospital Galway, Galway

Naas General Hospital, Kildare

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda, Louth

Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin

Bloomfield Health Services, Dublin

Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Dublin