Protected mealtimes should be in place on wards, whereby all non‐essential clinical activities are discontinued and a calm environment exists (Age UK [2]). The use of protected mealtimes within hospitals is strongly encouraged and trusts should have an appropriate policy in place to monitor and audit its implementation on wards. The Care Quality Commission carried out a dignity and nutrition inspection programme in 2012 and found that protected mealtimes was one of the contributing factors in encouraging support for patients to eat and drink sufficient amounts in hospitals, achieving the standard of ‘meeting people's nutritional needs’ (Care Quality Commission [29]). However, research suggests that the UK requirement for protected mealtimes may not have an impact on energy and protein intake as it was designed to do, and further reviews are required (Porter et al. [145]).