Protected Mealtimes Initiative

Protected Mealtimes Initiative

A national initiative introduced by NHS Estates in 2004 as part of the Better Hospital Food Programme, which encourages wards to stop all non-urgent clinical activity during mealtimes so that patients can eat their meals without interruptions and nursing staff are available to offer help to those who need it.
The PMI was developed in response to data that patients often leave hospital in worse nutritional state that when they were admitted, and the National Patient Safety Agency identified poor nutrition as a service-user safety issue. At the 5-year mark, two-thirds of hospitals in the UK protect all meals; another 13% protect some meals.