Whangarei Hospital Dietitian Services
The primary focus of the hospital dietitians is to support the service requirements of hospital inpatients and their treatment while in hospital.
Patients will be referred as appropriate to a dietitian for specialised input during their admission. The dietitian will assess and recommend a nutritional treatment to support the specialist management of the patient. This may also include education for the patient and follow up as an outpatient.
The primary focus of the hospital dietitians is to support the service requirements of hospital inpatients and their treatment while in hospital.
Patients will be referred as appropriate to a dietitian for specialised input during their admission. The dietitian will assess and recommend a nutritional treatment to support the specialist management of the patient. This may also include education for the patient and follow up as an outpatient.
Meals for Inpatients
Inpatients will be provided with meals to meet their condition, disease or treatment. Ward nurses select the type of diet code for a patient. If special diets are required due to food allergies or intolerances or for a condition/disease it is important the nurses know this so they can order the correct diet.
Whangarei Hospital has 47 diet codes to support the treatment needs of many common conditions/diseases. An example of the range is: standard healthy, very low fat, high fat, low salt, high salt, low potassium, high potassium, allergen free, fluid diets, soft, minced or puree, renal diets, diabetic diets and tube feeding. Therefore some of the diets do not consist of standard foods or what is considered 'normal' foods. A fluid diet may be necessary after surgery to aid a patient back to eating; as things improve the intention is for the patient to change to a different diet and begin to eat solid foods.
Patients are offered a choice of options within the majority of diet codes, but if a diet code is changed by a nurse or a dietitian or a speech language therapist, often the next few meals provided will not be what was chosen.
To ensure your needs for your eating and your meals are met, please first speak to your nurse and the menu clerk, if necessary they will refer you on to a dietitian.
