Hospital food: AIBU?

[IrenetheQuaint]

My 75-year-old father is in hospital - one of the best hospitals in the country - with unexplained breathing difficulties. He is not at all fussy and will generally eat anything put in front of him... but he finds the hospital food disgusting to the point of being almost inedible. I was briefly in the same hospital 15 years ago and found the same thing.

There are a few shops and cafes in the entrance bit but he is on oxygen and can't get to them. Fortunately my brother lives nearby and has managed to bring him some food in (I live 2 hours away and have a stinking cold so can't get there myself). But what about people who have no families nearby, or who can't afford to go to M&S etc two or three times a day?

How can the medical care be so good but the food so bad? If airlines can supply basic but perfectly edible food in complicated circumstances then why can't hospitals?? Good healthy food is an essential part of recovery from illness... it's appalling that the NHS can't supply this (or at least, not at this large and internationally respected hospital).

I know it costs money, but couldn't they bring in a scheme where patients contributed to food costs, with subsidies for those who can't afford it. Even a voluntary donation of £5 per person per day would surely enable a massive improvement in the service? I can't believe other Western countries are so rubbish in this respect?

[theSnuffster]

I spent lots of time in hospital while pregnant as I suffered with hyperemeis gravidarum. Given the reason I was there, I didn't even order a meal most of the time. But when I was feeling well enough to try some food it was so disheartening that there was very little on the menu that was suitable. They eventually put me on something called a 'white menu' which contained only plain foods.
I was very lucky that I had visitors who would bring me snacks. And one particular lovely nurse who would bring me 'build up' milkshakes.

[WiIdfire]

Our local hospital food is reasonable.


However, it is currently the case that you can voluntarily financially support the hospital kitchen - by declining the food provided and having someone bringing in food for you. That way, the hospital only has to cater for those who can't afford their own.

[HollaHolla]

When I was admitted through a&e a few years ago, my dad had to go get me a sandwich from a nearby petrol station after about 12 hours, as because I was admitted after dinner (been in a&e since about lunchtime) there was nothing ... I was starving - and not likely to be nil by mouth.

[BolivarAtasco]

We had an elderly relative in a big London hospital. She was unable to eat the food. Partly because it was disgusting. I saw one meal she was served and it was a cube of boiled fish with some kind of white sauce over it, one boiled potato and a couple of green beans. It looked and smelled awful.

But they would put the food on her table, then not move the table or help reach it so she could eat it. Then they'd come back later and go 'oh you didn't eat your dinner, dear? Never mind' and just take it away no matter what she tried to say.

Mil was in for several days this year and they kept taking her for scans or consultations right when food was being served. She would miss the food and then if she asked for something they would say they could only do her a sandwich but then that wouldn't even turn up because they were too busy.

It happened on 5 of the 7 days she was in. We ended up taking her food in.

[MetalMidget]

I have fond memories of the delicious lasagne I was served in hospital. By delicious I mean God awful, and also... covered in gravy. Gravy. Salty, salty gravy.

shudder

[Wolpertinger]

I often have to intervene on my ward with elderly people who are 'choosing' their menu choices and never eating them.

However I work with a tiny team and know everyone by name, and don't have that rapid a turnover of patients, so we can implement things like 'don't offer the whole menu to Mrs X just give her a choice of jacket potato or soup' or 'don't ask Mr Y at all, just bring him an ice-cream'. On a big unit in an even bigger hospital you can't do things to that level.

I think a big issue for younger people is that hospital food is designed in general for older people. What we eat, and how much we want it cooked has changed massively. So the hospital caterers are trying to do 'family favorites' but really there is no such thing any more.

And that's without trying to cater for people used to eating food from different cultures or having to come up with a Kosher gluten-free option, or Halal clean food for neutropenic patients or whatever other variation. I remember seeing a vegetarian clean option which was basically a bit of iceberg lettuce and wondering how exactly this was supposed to sustain a critically sick patient.

[Statelychangers]

I was banned from eating the hospital food after giving birth, it wasn't suitable for for my stomach apparently. Dh had to get me soup from Sainsbury's. When dd was in hospital we ordered Asian Food - it was so much better than the normal stuff.

[AliceInUnderpants]

Graphista are you in Tayside? I just noticed NHS Tayside's website is down whilst I went looking for info on meals.

[DropZoneOne]

When I was in after having DD, a friend of mine told me the budget for food in NHS hospitals was 50p per meal per day. If that's true, it goes a heck of a long way to explaining why it's so basic. Even with the big economies of scale you'd get in a hospital, 50p is very little.

One of the midwives told me on the second day that hospital portions were completely insufficient for post-natal mothers (especially those breastfeeding) and to get DH to bring me in extra food so I'd get enough calories. To make matters worse I was vegetarian, and the main meal two days running was broccoli and cauliflower cheese!

[Jynxed]

I'm a couple of years out of date now, but when I worked in a large London hospital the catering budget was £1 per person per day, including all meals and snacks. Enough said.

[belleandsnowwhite]

One hospital I was in, the food was fab. Made onsite fresh.. Another hospital I was in the food was awful, reheated microwave food and not much choice. Amazing the difference between two hospitals.

[Biffsboys]

When I was in hospital the only thing I ate was cereal ( which came in mini boxes ) - on the plus side I lost 7lb in 3 days

[QueenArseClangers]

"Today 21:15 e1y1

IMO you will never get better medical care than the Republic of Ireland (however, you have to pay/have insurance as no NHS).

Food - still shit"

Unless you're a woman who doesn't want to be pregnant or fancies having autonomy over her body

[PickAChew]

YANBU.

I stayed in 2 different hospitals when I had the boys. The first one, the food wasn't interesting, very meat and 2 veg, but it was nice and I enjoyed it, even if I did crave pizza after 2 weeks.

The second one was dire. I was hungry all the time because the food I was served was barely edible.

It's well known that good nutrition is as important to recovery to many people as medicines and clinical care, so shite food is really such a false economy, particularly when people already have a diminished appetite due to their various health issues.

I know the hospital with the awful food did change caterer at least once in the years following my stay there and tha was reflected in the canteen, since I visited regularly as an outpatient when DS2 was about 5 and actually ended up going up for some lunch after my sessions a few times and did find something palatable to eat and there were big queues for the midweek roasts, so a definite improvement on the faces people were pulling at the offerings while DS2 was a small baby (we had some outpatient appointments for him, due to a few issues, after his birth)

[brasty]

My local hospital used to have terrible food, but it has improved beyond all recognition.

[lalalalyra]

It's a lottery at hospitals around here. My baby DD was in hospital Weds, Thurs and Friday and the meals (not for her as she's only 4 months, but they offered me a meal and other children and parents on the ward were fed) were great.

However, my FIL is at another hospital (the main one in town) and his meals are dire. On Monday last week I happened to be there at meal time due to a meeting with his doctor and he was given a 'gammon steak' (it was a paper thin slice of cold meat) with mash potato (badly mixed powered mash) and carrots so hard you could have broken a window with them! We were in for a meeting because his consultant won't release him because he's losing weight...

[IrenetheQuaint]

"I'm a couple of years out of date now, but when I worked in a large London hospital the catering budget was £1 per person per day, including all meals and snacks. Enough said."

That's awful.

In that case why not ask every patient to pay £1 or £2 a day each... surely everyone could afford that, and it would double or triple the budget!

[PickAChew]

The provider that improved the food was McAlpine, btw. That did tickle me.

[228agreenend]

I was in hospital a few weeks ago for a few days. The food was really good. In the three days I was there, there was only one meali didn't like.

[PickAChew]

Paying £5 a day towards food,wouldn't be a tax on the sick....everyone has to eat ...people would still be paying for their food if they weren't in hospital...it might even open up more choices...like blue water or lakeside shopping centres where there is lots of food places together,people could place their orders and get it delivered.....I'm really over thinking this..can you tell I've not had dinner

OK, in theory, until you realise that
a) Some people don't have a budget much bigger than that for their entire family
and
b) Some people, when in hospital, are completely losing their income.

[DeepanKrispanEven]

When my mother was in hospital after a stroke they just used to dump a tray in front of her and leave her to it. She couldn't really use the right side of her body - she's right handed; her sight on the right was compromised and her co-ordination was shot. So her chances of actually managing to bring any bit of food to her mouth were close to zero. Therefore she would have starved had we not arranged to be there at mealtimes to help her. I'm not blaming the staff, we could see how overstretched they were. But when the NHS is actually providing a meal, it would surely be an idea to ensure that the patients are physically able to eat it.

[whataboutbob]

I'm an NHS dietitian and i know that all nhs hospitals in london (bar one unless things have changed in the last 5 years) no longer cook on site, the system they use is called cook chill, basically they buy food in form large commercial kitchens, some as far away as Wales . It is chilled to just above freezing point, then re heated (so essentially cooked twice). The end product depends quite a lot on the skill of the person doing the reheating , but on a bad day it can be pretty bad. Texture, taste and smell are of course affected. I think a lot of changes have happened for the convenience of the catering managers (they can reduce staff numbers, make sure they get the meals they want on the day etc) with the cooperation of hospital management, who can achieve cost savings. It's embarrassing, when patients complain to me about the food, and i can only agree that it is poor. I suggested to our catering manager that he bring back on site cooking and he just laughed.

[123MothergotafleA]

Yes, it is a strategy to piss people off enough that they will push off home or somewhere.
The government is closing thousands of beds across the country and have no space for anyone much less those who are sick.
Richard (Beardy) Branson and his ilk are waiting to swoop.
There is a massive problem with "bed blockers" in this country. So , I maintain that there is a real effort being made to get them out of hospital at all costs. Starvation being implemented as we speak.

[Oblomov16]

I quite like hospital food. You choose, it arrives, it's cleared away. What's not to like?

[PickAChew]

Cook chill is great with typical ready meal type food (ie stuff in sauce, rice, mash) but disastrous with something like fish and chips!