| Summary: | Magister Scientiae (Nutrition Management) - MSc(NM) === Introduction: The significant link between mental health and nutrition throughout one’s life
cannot be overstated. Yet this strong association is often neglected in the public healthcare
sector in South Africa, particularly in the case of people who are being treated for various types
of mental illness. It is therefore important to prioritise nutrition care through efficient and
effective hospital food services in public psychiatric facilities. Although hospital settings are
often perceived to provide efficient clinical care, the food provided to patients by hospital food
service units is often criticised for being bland, repetitive and/or unhealthy. At times, too,
inadequate food budget allocations by provincial health departments or poor supply chain
management practices result in patients receiving inadequate quantities of food at mealtimes,
which might lead to their becoming malnourished during their hospital stays. For psychiatric
patients in particular, malnutrition can have serious short and longer-term consequences.
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