Most hospitals and social care sites are aware of Listeria guidance from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) but an analysis has found several challenges around implementation.
In a 2019 outbreak associated with pre-packed sandwiches supplied to hospitals in England, seven patients died of listeriosis.
Following this incident, the FSA said it would review its 2016 listeriosis guidance. The research was commissioned to look at awareness, implementation, and perceived effectiveness of the guidance, including barriers to implementing it in full.
The recent report covers findings from 39 respondents within National Health Service (NHS) Trusts and 445 from Health and Social Care (non-NHS Trust) settings, such as nursing homes, home care service providers and hospices, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
An online survey was sent to all NHS Trusts in the three nations between November and December 2021. In the majority of cases, the survey was completed by the catering manager, who was responsible for food safety. IFF Research carried out the survey of non-NHS settings by telephone. Fieldwork took place in August and September 2022. IFF Research interviewed the person with overall responsibility for food safety — this was often the general manager.
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