Supporting existential care with protected mealtimes: patients’ experiences of a mealtime intervention in a neurological ward

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients who were admitted to the neurological ward during an intervention – inspired by Protected Mealtime – that changed the traditional mealtime practice. Background: Mealtimes are busy events in hospitals and patients are often interrupted by high-priority tasks (e.g. taking blood samples) while eating. Protected mealtimes is a British concept that changes the organizational structure of mealtimes and provides a focus on the mealtime by ceasing all non-acute activities while patients are eating. Design: Influenced by protected mealtimes and based on the British Medical Research Council (MRC) guidelines, a clinical intervention called Quiet Please was developed, modified and tested in a department of neurology in November 2014. Methods: To evaluate the Quiet Please intervention, 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients who were admitted to the neurological ward. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. These data were thoroughly analysed and interpreted with inspiration from the French philosopher, Paul Ricouer. Findings: Three themes were identified from the analysis and interpretation: (1) being powered by the bell; (2) being embraced by calmness and aesthetics and (3) being in a trust-bearing agreement. Conclusions: Patients experienced mealtimes as meaningful events that nourished them in an existential manner because the calming and aesthetically pleasing environment made them feel embraced and allowed them to reflect on the day for a while. The mealtime change, influenced by protected mealtimes, made the patients feel recognized as humans and established positive mealtime experiences that were considered professional and trust bearing.