The quality of foodservice is strongly associated with patient satisfaction in hospitals,
and most hospital foodservice organisations are changing their focus on to patient
care in order to boost patient satisfaction. The public’s perception of hospitals is
always considered as an institution, and institutional catering is generally viewed as
low class. This negative image of hospital food is common and is therefore not
necessarily related to the food itself but to other factors in hospitals. This study aims
to investigate the levels of satisfaction with foodservice amongst patients in private
hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal. A quantitative research approach was used for the study,
and the data was collected by means of a structured questionnaire that was targeted
at patients admitted to various wards at three private hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal.
Overall, the study concluded that patients were generally satisfied with the foodservice
in hospitals. However, some patients were found to be dissatisfied with cultural
considerations in menu choices, meal serving times and the availability of healthy food
choices.
