To expect that a hospital should be able to meet my dietary needs?

[Balloonsandroses]

Pretty sure I’m not being unreasonable! Been in hospital 24 hours now and just been to eat a meal for the first time (my choice). There is nothing gluten free. I have coeliac disease which they’ve known since admission. Gluten makes me vomit. So I can literally eat pepper, cucumber and lettuce. To add insult to injury this is a psych ward and I was admitted under section (still furious about this) so I can’t even leave and go and buy some food.

When my coeliac mother was in hospital, she could only eat food we took in. As a cancer patient, if she'd eaten the full of gluten food provided, she would have become even sicker.

They can't keep.hot food on a ward ,they may salads or sandwiches that were left ,or cereal and bread but that will be about it ime.

Our hospital stocks some deep frozen meals which can be heated in a special microwave, it's all bar coded and the temperature confirmed and logged. They're pretty good quality and it's possible to have a decent meal at any time if the nursing staff know about it and can be prevailed upon to collect it from the particular wards that keep the stock.

I was in last april undiagnosed diabetic and went straight on insulin. My blood sugar was sky high and took days to come down but the food really wasnt helping. There were boxes to tick for gluten free, vegetarian etc but nothing for diabetes, then wondered why my blood sugar wasnt coming down as quickly as they wanted it to!

I feel for you OP, it’s ridiculous and really it’s no less than medical negligence. Makes me very cross.

I had gestational diabetes and the hospital weren’t able to offer food suitable for diabetics (!) which puts you off agreeing to admission as it could have badly affected outcomes, but then so can not being admitted when you need it. A patient should not be put in that position. The staff agreed that it was ridiculous and embarrassingly inadequate. I saw another patient with GD come in and the only food they could find for her was a sandwich which I knew would be bad, sure enough an hour later they were paging an emergency doctor as her blood sugar was spiking.

It’s a major issue and it predates the whole covid/brexit/current crisis. They aren’t just trying and failing to provide diets that are safe for people with medical issues, they are not even trying to.

But being anxious if there’s no meat or struggling as a cheese addict (same) just is not the same as having a small amount of gluten and having a range of symptoms including but not limited to shitting yourself, projective vomiting, having intense stomach cramps, being confused/anxious/disoriented/full of brain fog.

All vegan food should be vegan and gluten free, that caters for everyone but the Atkins/keto lot. Be a damn sight healthier than the muck they serve at the moment.

*all hospital food

it’s cheaper too!

I found it shocking that in an age where sandwich shops and takeaways are being vigorously prosecuted for not taking allergies and medical conditions seriously in their food prep and labelling that the NHS can just give people food that is documented to make them sick.

Exactly the same experience here - it makes me mad. And why the hell has EVERYTHING got gluten in anyway? We need normal stuff all the time at home. I'm sorry but it IS different from being vegan. Bring coeliac isn't a choice 😡😡😡

You poor thing.
what a horrible place to be, and against your will and without food .
I hope and pray you get well and get home soon x

I find hospital food fine, diabetes wise.

i suggest you seek professional help. To hate a random group of people because of what they eat/don’t eat when that has zero impact on you is deranged behaviour no person without serious underlying issues would be having your reaction.

You clearly have zero understanding of nutrition.

One of the most unhinged comments seen on here in a while (that's saying something).

OP yes it is unacceptable, there should be food you can eat. If you don't feel up to it (understandable) do you have people who can advocate for you? Hotel services will have a budget to source stuff from outside of their usual supply chain, if they really cannot provide for you that way then they need to sort something.

Because it's a cheap ingredient I assume given how much more expensive GF food is.

Wtf did I just read? Why shouldnt they cater to a vegan diet? Are you mad?

OP my 85 year old dad has been on a trolley in A&E for 3 nights now. The system is fucked. The best we can all do is try to stop the idiots who voted Tory from doing so again.
I hope you are out of there soon my lovely xxx

That is ridiculous. I once flew on a BA flight (the other airline doing the same route serves a choice of 2 hot meals) and all they served was a cheese and onion sandwich. I’m lactose intolerant so couldn’t eat it. But I chose to fly, being in a hospital against your will and being starved is a pisstake. You should complain.

What have they offered you? I’ve never been in a hospital without a jacket potato option. Rice? Soup? Meat? Chips?
can your husband have a look at the menu with you? If you’ve been in 24 hours you should be able to order yourself now

I'm sure that'll help nourish OP.

This is shocking BalloonAndRoses, I hope that you are able to put in a complaint.

Especially as it's likely to be suitable for a lot of religious/cultural diets (eg halal, vegetarian for religious reasons) and people who have a dairy intolerance.

Hospitals are bloody useless the first few days your in there I’ve found. Drives me mad. I’m on a permanent low fibre diet thanks to a Bowel disease, I also can’t eat certain veg and fruit as it makes me violently ill. I get sent up every item of food i can’t eat . I do feel for the nurses because they know I need food but they know I can’t eat it too. Keep trying they do keep foods in the kitchen. They have gluten free sandwiches in there 2 as I have them.

No I wouldnt expect the NHS to cater for dietary needs. It's on its knees providing healthcare to dying people. This is the problem. Peoples expectations are too high

Would you be able to order something to the ward? We had to order stuff from a corner shop after the dairy/soy free option was a gf cheese sandwich.. buttered for good measure. I know if we’d ate it we’d have been in the right place but it makes me so nervous to give both dc’s or me anything I haven’t made.

Heinz snap pots wouldnt need a tin opener or fridge, unsure if any micro rice things would be ok, fruits/fruit pots too. I’m sure you’ll know what type of things are suitable better than us.

ironically the other food stuffs all stuff we can’t/don’t eat either.. besides raisins but I can count on my hand the amount of times I’ve ate those in the past few years