Services

NUTRITION AND DIETETICS DEPARTMENT

INTRODUCTION

Nutrition and dietetics is the study and art of applying the science of food and nutrients to human beings in their health and disease.

Dietitians are the healthcare professionals who use their knowledge and creative skills based on nutrition in maintaining patients' health.

Nutritional requirements are difficult to predict in cancer patients because of their altered inflammatory response and metabolic rates caused by the disease itself. Optimizing nutritional support in hospitals is important since, it reduces morbidity and mortality, shortens hospital length of stay, improves the quality of life in cancer patients.

Therefore, the dietetics and food service department is an integral part of Purbanchal Cancer Hospital as it serves with providing adequate nutrition and counseling to the hospitalized as well as other onco patients based on their medical needs. 

AIM

The aim of the department is to excel in field of onco-nutrition and in-house food service management by providing nutritious and palatable food while maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation for patients.

ONCO NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

The department is located on the 3rd floor of the purbanchal cancer hospital besides  PETCT.

INPATIENT DIETARY SERVICE

 Dietitians provide normal, modified, and therapeutic diet plans to all patients depending on their respective diagnoses in consultation with treating doctors of the individual patients.  

Dietitians take extensive ward rounds, and daily daycare visits and assess the patient's requirements based on their diet history,  biochemical parameters, and BMI.

Diet modification is done in case of food allergies, intolerances, oral effects, and proper initiation of enteral feeding is taken care of.

All the patients are provided a detailed diet chart and dietary guidelines at the time of discharge. The patients then visit the OPD for follow-up.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HOSPITAL DIETITIANS

To provide adequate nutrition to overcome nutrition-related emaciation and cachexia in cancer patients.

To provide nutritional education and knowledge in maintaining healthy dietary habits during and after cancer treatment.

To solve nutrition-related myths and conceptions of cancer patients.

To provide awareness about harmful eating habits and their impacts on patients' health.

To educate and assist patients and families in how to choose meals based on treatment-induced side effects and gastrointestinal symptoms.

To monitor and assess the weight of patients on each visit to the chemo cycle and also manage neutropenic precautions.

To provide therapeutic nutrition to patients on supportive and palliative care.

To provide nutrition education about the role of anti-oxidants rich foods and phytochemicals in the treatment of cancer.

IN-HOUSE DIETARY SERVICE

In-house, the food service department is placed on the ground floor, left side of the lobby area of purbanchal cancer hospital.  It has two units:

Therapeutic and ward service unit.

Canteen and Restaurant unit.

In-house dietitian checks the diet order slip forwarded by the hospital dietitian and supervises kitchen staff to prepare food as per the patient's requirements.

TYPES OF DIET OFFERED IN HOSPITAL

Regular or Normal diet

Liquid diet

Pureed or Blended diet

Soft diet

Bland diet

Tube feeding

High protein diet

Diabetic diet

Renal diet

Neutropenic diet

Others ( as advised by a dietitian)

OUTPATIENT DIETARY SERVICE

 The personalized diet plan is made for outpatients referred from various departments such as medical oncology, once surgery, gynae oncology, ENT, pediatric oncology, and hematology.

Nutritional recipes are developed according to feasibility of patients.

OPD timing is  on Sunday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM