Hospitality, Catering and Food Service

Hospitality is the art of giving accommodations and food to people. Catering is the art of making food for guests in events, which at some times requires it to be taken to the events. Hospitality and catering covers work in hotels, restaurants and holiday accommodations where they offer foods and accommodation. They also offer foods to industries ( Brotherton2012).

Hospitality and food service can be used in commercial sectors and service sector. In commercial sectors, they are profit oriented (Jones 2002). They have their services to make profits. Some of the profit oriented hospitality industries includes hotels, restaurants, pubs and takeaways. In service centers, making money is not the main purpose. Most of them are subsidised by the government where they offer food for free or sell at a remarkably low price. They include hospitals, prisons and education institutions (Clarke 2012).

Food Service and Catering in Hospitals

Supply of food to patients in hospitals is the responsibility of the hospital. This is usually done by the hospital support service. Customers in hospitals must be treated well. This is because they must say the facility they use and the physician they see (Great Britain 2006). The patients (customers) might change hospitals, not because of poor quality and high fee but due to poor service. In health care, hotel and catering industries always focus on the outdoor customers and neglect the indoor customers. Internal customers include the nurses, physicians, lab technicians and other health professions (Light 1990). This may affect the work performance of the hospital attendant. These health professionals may provide poor service to patients. The employees are, however, advised not to rely with one department to affect the performance of the whole organization. The importance and relevance of food service compared to other clinical activities is always ignored. Providing food services that focus on patient’s food is seen as essential in the cost effective manner. Public sees hospitals as an institution and they have a poor reputation of offering poor service. The hospital management should try and improve this sector so as the customers can have the satisfaction (Brotherton 2012). Hospital food has a terrible image. It is widespread that the food is unacceptable and is, therefore, not necessarily (Foskett 2011).

Increasing competition in hotel firms has made some hotels enhance service so as to gain competitive advantage. There is a continuous change in hospitals which mainly focuses on patient satisfaction (Jones1994). Managers are therefore, required to learn techniques to improve customer services and ensure that patients are satisfied with the services (John 2000). Patients who are vulnerable to microbiology and nutritional risks are likely to have problems which can be posed by poor hygiene in hospitals. Involvement in handling food by nurses and other medical stuff which are not properly trained may cause these problems. There should be a proper food management in hospitals where nurses and untrained stuff should handle the matter with extra care (Cross 2009).

Conclusion

Hospital food has a terrible public viewing. However, this can be improved by having better handling of customers and giving them satisfaction. Nurses and other hospital attendants who handle food should be trained properly. This would minimize chances of food poisoning to the patients.