The Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) is joining forces with the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) to meet with Lord Kamall, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences at the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure the key challenges facing health and social care catering are understood and recognised as part of the Health & Care Bill.
Sue Cawthray, National Chair of the NACC, and Brian Robb, Chair of the HCA, will attend a crucial meeting with Lord Kamall to discuss the immediate issues and consequences in the health and care catering sectors, as well as tangible solutions.
The invitation to meet was made by Lord Kamall following a debate in the House of Lords at which Lord Hunt of King’s Heath, President of the HCA, and Baroness Barker, Patron of the NACC, spoke in support of an amendment to the Health & Care Bill, for which the HCA has been lobbying for some time. The amendment called for better funding, training, pay and recognition across health and social care catering. The meeting, scheduled for February 9, 2022, will also be attended by Lord Hunt and Baroness Barker.
The HCA and NACC have a significant opportunity to ensure that the voice of health and social care caterers is heard and that their vital work does not continue to go unrecognised.
“Our aim is to secure greater recognition of the essential role care caterers play through the introduction of professional standards and an agreed framework, recognised by the CQC and ICGs, that give chefs in care catering real credibility. Training has to be mandatory, properly funded and regularly updated and refreshed, to ensure that it is accessed by all chefs across the sector,” says Sue Cawthray.
“Health and social care catering are intrinsically linked so it really is a case of together we are stronger. We look forward to creating a collaboration with the HCA that tackles these core issues head on and makes a real difference to the lives of the chefs and caterers that work in our wonderful sectors and, in turn, the residents, clients and patients benefitting from their expertise, talent and dedication.”
