Eating Takeaway In A Hospital Waiting Room Do You See It As Unreasonable

[Warrior96]

So long story short I ended up with an infected ear piercing and had to see an out of hours doctor at the hospital. My life medical problems always seem to happen on a Saturday or Sunday! Due to it is known to be a nasty infection I was admitted onto the ears nose and throat ward, it was average time 5-6 hours to see a doctor it took me 5 hours. In the meantime in the waiting room a couple sat next to me bought a KFC into the waiting room. I can understand people can get hungry with the long wait but there were a number of nauseous people in that waiting room. I feel they were being a bit selfish and could have bought something more appropriate.

AIBU?

I'm not saying your experience isn't valid, but if you can smell a packet of monster munch/ wotsits from across a room but a greasy takeaway doesn't bother you, you are vastly in the minority.

KFC is more pungent - the smell spreads further because it is hot, and it fills the room with a greasy odor. I agree some crisps have a particular smell, but crisps are not the same, for most people, and the smell doesn't linger in a room in the same way after they've been eaten.

Interesting how the vote is not at all matching the comments. I have never, eaten hot takeaway in the A&E waiting area, but find the outrage about it here a little hard to credit. There are lots of reasons (many illustrated here) why a KFC might have been the only option for the person concerned, with the current long waiting times in A&E, and what people are saying is essentially...that their comfort or discomfort ranks above that of the person eating the takeaway. The notion that people should either do without, or pack a picnic of Mumsnet approved healthy foods before they travel to A&E for their urgent health crisis is laughable. Nobody is selfish, entitled and inconsiderate, for taking potentially the only option available to them to have any food at all. Those expecting those people to eat only foods on their approved list are the selfish and entitled ones.

I don't know, they needed to eat I guess! Someone ordered a pizza/kebab to the labour ward when I had just given birth, the smell filled the whole ward 🤢I felt so queasy, but she had just given birth and had earned that takeaway I suppose!

We have no idea about cafe or shop opening hours or if they even exist as the OP hasn’t supplied that level of detail. Simply that someone brought in a KFC.

my point stands - hot smelly food disgusting, cold food acceptable.

Yes those famous readily available dairy free sandwiches made in a dairy free and nut free environment! I stated my emergency kit was out.

It was a chicken burger, not smoked kippers. I really wouldn't give a shit.

I've never really understood why people go on about things like a McDonald's or a KFC, which are really bland foods and barely smell of anything other than vaguely savoury, as if they're akin to tucking into an overripe Camembert or a platter of tripe.

Hospitals smell weird already. Some chips isn't going to make much difference.

I would hate the smell but honestly I understand it, I’ve had to wait to be seen for hours and hours after the cafe has closed and no food shops around. In the end after I told the nurse I was leaving she kindly rustled up a sandwich and things for me but I’d not eaten for 11 hours and was 8 months pregnant at the time! The hospital can barely provide food for the patients so definitely can’t feed the family members waiting etc. there isn’t always a valid alternative eg sandwich shop or food brought from home. It’s shit. I just wish hospital cafes were open 24/7.

The food itself they serve you in hospital always stinks the wards out. KFC is not grounds for a complaint.

Personally I'd wait or, if I really couldn't, then find the least smelly food I could.
I've been a patient in a&e with severe nausea and vomiting and am entirely family came in with some kind of picnic to eat. They then complained loudly that I'd put them off eating when I vomited into the bowl I'd been sitting with.

If you were that poorly it wouldn't bother you. It's not something I would get worked up about. Maybe someone hasn't eaten in days and that's what they fancied! Not everyone is a sandwich fan. Your limited to fast food options.

I am baffled at these people who have to be in hospital, can't leave to find food easily, haven't had prior warning to pack a picnic...

Yet are able to go out of their way to find the least objectionable food.

My priorities for foods are - does it agree with me - is it diabetic appropriate/can I calculate the carbs/sugars in it - does it have a reasonably high protein content - will it make me shit myself later... thats after I have determined whether I can actually get hold of this food.

Shockingly, in a hospital, it is extremely difficult to get hold of suitable foods for a lot of people. I have in the past resorted to scraping the egg filling out of an egg butty and eating that, because I haven't enough insulin on me to eat the bread, nor will the hospital supply it in a timely fashion. (And before anyone says 'well you're in a hospital so if you do go hyper or hypo they'll sort it out'... no, I was left hypo and to deal with it myself for hours!)

I could think of plenty of things worse than kfc.

@Ethylred who are these 'people', then?

Us greedy, greedy fatties. 😑😑

And cold food doesn't ever smell? I give you egg and onion sandwiches, for a start...!!

At 11pm at night????

Well then you do that. Let other people do as they wish.

Have you ever been to A&E even??

Are you having a laugh? What good will that do when the patient is hungry right there and then?!

Would you not care that your elderly dad hadn't eaten?

The only times i’ve been to A&E i’ve had acute pancreatitis, and been vomiting constantly. I never stayed in waiting room more than 20mins as once triaged I went straight through as I was very unwell. So their food smell would have made me puke and pretty sure they’d be put off their food!

You just had to get that dig in, didn't you!

Everyone need to fucking eat!!

Somebody brought a massive burger with all the trimmings and fries into the chemo ward when there was over thirty of us getting chemo a few months back. I found it amusing only because I wasn’t near enough to smell it. Highly inappropriate.

You are quite correct an egg sandwich can smell 👏

thanks for clearing that up.

If the person going through chemo fancied a burger and chips I say good on them, go for it.

Never mind the rest of us suffering with nausea etc