Water UK

Bottled water provision in hospitals and care homes in Scotland

06/09/07

View on Scottish Parliament website

John Lamont: To ask the Scottish Executive how many litres of bottled water it purchased for hospitals and care homes and at what cost in each of the last three years, and what its policy is on the provision of water for staff and visitors. (S3W-3427)

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is not responsible for purchasing for either hospitals or care homes. Responsibility for all procurement for the health service lies with NHS National Services Scotland. In the case of care homes, responsibility lies in the main with individual homes.

In 2003 NHS Quality Improvement Scotland published Clinical Standards for Food, Fluid and Nutritional Care. These standards state that where clinically appropriate, patients should have access to fresh drinking water at all times. These standards apply to patients only.

There are currently no national standards which relate to provision of water for staff and visitors. This is a matter for local health boards and care homes.