Better Choices Award – Central West Health Allied Health Rural Interprofessional Clinical Educator Liz McDonald – left – received the health service’s award from Health and Wellbeing Queensland Chief Executive Dr Robyn Littlewood. Ms McDonald accepted the award on behalf of Dietitian Sophie Gouveia who was unable to attend the event
The Central West Hospital and Health Service has won a Health and Wellbeing Queensland award for delivering healthier food and drink options for patients, staff and visitors.
Central West Health was named runner up in Health and Wellbeing Queensland’s A Better Choice awards in the Regional Hospital and Health Service category.
Contenders in this category had to demonstrate excellence in the implementation across all performance areas of Better Choice options, as well as innovation, partnerships and leadership in implementing these options.
A Better Choice is a public health approach designed to make it easier for Queenslanders to access healthy food and drink options in places outside the home.
Central West Health Allied Health Rural Interprofessional Clinical Educator Liz McDonald said the Better Choice program had started in 2017 in the Central West.
“At the start, we were able to introduce six vending machines across Glasson House and our five hospital or multipurpose health service sites to provide healthier food and drink options for staff and consumers,’’ she said.
“Over the past seven years, the Allied Health Team, led by our dietitians have continued to source, order, fill and maintain the vending machines across all sites to ensure there are healthy options for food and drink available in our facilities.
“Our Dietitian Sophie Gouveia has led the Better Choice program in the Central West over the past three years.
“She has been supported by dietitians Kelsey Silburn and Annabelle Needham and Allied Health Assistants Casey Laffin and Jackarra Jones, who have managed the day-to-day logistics of the program, including ordering and packing products to send around the district.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to the overall Allied Health Team who courier all the products around the health service and restock the machines and administration staff at each site who support our Allied Health staff with managing the vending machines.
Health and Wellbeing Queensland Chief Executive Dr Robyn Littlewood said Central West Health had overcome the challenges of remoteness to achieve 100 per cent of their vending machines meeting Better Choice targets over the past several years.
She said it was an excellent result for a small health service that did not run any retail outlets and rare for a health service to internally organise all aspects of vending operations to ensure they met the needs of staff and communities.
Ms McDonald said Central West Health would continue to work actively in the Better Choice space to ensure healthier products were easily accessible and promoted, so that they become the easiest and most obvious choice.
“For instance, last year, dietitian Sophie Gouveia developed a new recipe book that offers a wide range of meals that meet national nutrition standards and taste great,’’ she said.
“It’s the first full Central West Health menu review in more than 10 years.
“Hospital inpatients, multipurpose health service aged care residents, and Meals on Wheels recipients around the Central West are benefitting from the delicious and nutritious new menu.’’