Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

for think this is an odd choice?(hospital food related)

140 replies

Samcro · 16/06/2018 10:56

so dh was in hospital , he was overnight them home next day. so we were glad he was fed.
but one of the choices was so random
Shepherds pie, with a choice of mashed potato, or baked potato.
now we got a bit confused...
shepherds pie has mash. so did they mean mince with a choice of mash or baked?
he came home so never had the meal.
any one know?

OP posts:
mirime · 16/06/2018 11:23

@LRDtheFeministDragon maybe it wasn't planned? I didn't go in knowing I was going to be induced, at one point they were talking about me going home.

mycelialnetwork · 16/06/2018 11:24

I have coeliac disease and when I was last in hospital having dd1 there was absolutely no understanding gluten free that I needed a gluten free diet. There was nothing I could eat for breakfast, a mw managed to find me a yogurt in the end, and I was given the diabetic menu to choose lunch and dinner from. Dh brought me sandwiches after the first day. It was one of the (many) reason for choosing a home birth the second time round.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 16/06/2018 11:25

Ohhhh, yes, sorry! Of course. Duh.

GhettoFabulous · 16/06/2018 11:27

Many moons ago, after I had my youngest daughter, I was presented with an individual pizza (the kind you get 10 to a bag) with a side order of cabbage. When I queried the strange combo, I was shown a menu card where I had ticked them both. I must have been delirious from lack of sleep! Someone also ate my dinner when I was held up going to the dining room because I was breastfeeding.

FreudianSlurp · 16/06/2018 11:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

yawning801 · 16/06/2018 11:35

When I was in hospital for a couple of weeks last year the food actually wasn't too bad! They told me to bring a few snacks etc but on the whole it was fine.

However, when I went into hospital for a morning after a pea-allergy-related emergency earlier this year, they gave me a dollop of macaroni cheese... and guess what else was on the plate? BLOODY PEAS!

Olikingcharles · 16/06/2018 11:36

Just had a ten day stay in hospital and the food was pretty good. Except for the first night having been in emergency all day with nothing to eat ( given the worst sandwhich ever) oh and the night they gave me pork which i would never have asked for and the tea was horrid....couldn't wait for a decent cup of tea. Overall though it was good even hot too. I'm not in the UK though...

supersop60 · 16/06/2018 11:50

I would love shepherds pie with extra potatoes!

WhaleofaThyme · 16/06/2018 11:50

@yawning801 I've had that... Coming around in intensive care and I get offered my allergen for food despite the whole ward bit i was in being on an allergen ban because it's airborne...

Ollivander84 · 16/06/2018 11:55

Food was brilliant when I was in
Cheese and onion pie with mash, peas and gravy and a bread roll
Jam roly poly and custard
Yoghurt
Orange juice
2 brews at a time and always cake/biscuits with them

CanaBanana · 16/06/2018 11:57

But what are you supposed to eat on Monday?!
You get whatever the person who vacated the bed chose on Sunday.

And what if you have food allergies and can't eat what the person chose on Sunday? As @mycelialnetwork pointed out, if you can't eat gluten you are basically left to starve. It's a hospital ffs - they should be able to cope with medical conditions that require a special diet!

Original poster
Samcro · 16/06/2018 11:57

weirder still that allergies and intolerances are not catered for.

OP posts:
Daddystepdaddy · 16/06/2018 11:59

Hospital food is similar to other basic canteen food, they tend to operate on the principle that a main meal is a main item + carbs choice + veg/salad regardless of what that main item is so when it is shepherds/cottage pie you get double carbs.

I've always found hospital food (in my limited experience) to be quite salty, not sure if this is a general thing or maybe something to do with many patients being older and complaining because their taste buds aren't so sensitive.

The NHS are very keen on dishing out advice on diets to people, yet the food in hospitals often doesn't seem to pay that much heed to that. I often wonder if a dietitian has even looked over the menus on offer.

TubeJubeQube · 16/06/2018 11:59

@Samcro They are catered for. It's law that they are, and that allergen menus are available.

Womble75 · 16/06/2018 12:07

I loved the food when I had an enforced weeks stay post birth with DS last year (I was fine he was in SCBU) I got a decent menu to order from, and the midwives, bless them, used to keep me cheese and biscuits back for the night when I was up and down every 3 hours to express, to keep my energy up (they always had extras) I was really surprised at how nice the food was.
And the toast post birth really was the best thing I had ever tasted. They even had marmite 😂

TweeBee · 16/06/2018 12:14

Daddystepdaddy believe me a dietitian may well have looked and looked and looked over the bloody menus when they should have been seeing patients and spent hours sorting out stupid mistakes on the sodding things only for it all to be ignored! Ahem.

Frogletmamma · 16/06/2018 12:18

I was in for 9 days for induction/CS. The food was sloppy, mostly brown and mostly potatoes. I used to eat sandwiches lunch time and my husband used to bring me sandwiches at night. Couldn't eat any of it

CuppaSarah · 16/06/2018 12:24

My hospital is one with amazing food. They even have an onsite restaurant that is open to the public serving the same stuff the patients get. Which I believe also helps fund the food. The chilli I had after ds I still think about fondly. Even though we moved house, I'm having dc3 there just for the food.

Stormy76 · 16/06/2018 12:28

I didn't eat for 5/6 days after the birth of my 1st DS, it was 22 years ago but I still remember the first meal I had ....hospital food. Grey looking pork slices, watery cabbage and gravy. It looked horrendous but I was so hungry I ate every bit and it was the most delicious meal lol ..... no potatoe just pork and cabbage which is an odd meal in itself.

Mailfuckoff · 16/06/2018 12:35

At hospital the main meal of the day is at lunch and the smaller meal is at tea. So your cheese sandwich would have been a tea not a full dinner. I go with ds and we don't know how long we will be there for so have to order meals just in case. I know now to bring stuff ds will eat to cover all eventualities.

Snugglepumpkin · 16/06/2018 12:39

I was in hospital for 3 days (left on day 4)
The only food I was offered each meal time was a banana & glass of milk.
Nobody ever gave me a choice.
I am not vegetarian, I don't have gluten intolerance or anything which would mean I couldn't be offered a normal menu so I have no idea why.

Luckily I like bananas & milk.

Hospitals are weird.

FreudianSlurp · 16/06/2018 12:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NordicNobody · 16/06/2018 12:41

Whilst in hospital with DS I learned you can get takeaways delivered to hospital. Changed my life (and emptied my bank account). I was even able to send my friend a chicken tikka when she was sectioned on the other side of the country! I'm never suffering hospital food again.

C8H10N4O2 · 16/06/2018 12:44

It's law that they are, and that allergen menus are available

It may be law but when you are stuck with the previous occupant's menu choices and can't eat any of it just try asking for alternative food - stock answer is that they don't have any other meals available because they only bring in meals to order. The assumption is that you have family who are able to come in with daily picnics.

shiklah · 16/06/2018 12:46

I was given macaroni cheese with rice and carrots.

Deeply weird.