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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that childrens hospital food should at least be edible?

47 replies

ChirpyGirl · 21/06/2008 08:26

i probably am but i dont care
[scuse no caps, am one handed]
dd1 was in and out of hospital this week and the food available throught came from follwing list;

dinosaur turkey shapes
limp turkey breaded burgers
burnt sausies
some of that tinned pasta in tomato sauce
overcooked [and i mean really overcooked] french beans, cauliflower
dry peas
[only 1 veg each meal]
potato croquettes
smash [i asked]
overcooked boiled new potatoes

pudding was either spotted dick [ew] with custard or low fat yoghurt and the fruit was a few wrinkled apples and wrinkly large oranges

now, i maybe wrong as neither dd is school age, but surely they wouldnt be allowed that in school?

dd1 existed on stuff dh and i took in for her as she refused to eat any of it apart from breakfast [toast and cereal]

OP posts:
belgo · 21/06/2008 08:28

YANBU. Good nutrition is vital to a patient's recovery from illness, as the body needs extra energy and nutrients to get better.

Love2bake · 21/06/2008 08:32

YA so NBU

I wouldn't want my DC's eating most of that shite.

constancereader · 21/06/2008 08:33

yanbu
Sadly ime school meals are often pretty crap too (at least they were in the school I worked in).

shatteredmumsrus · 21/06/2008 08:35

Thats disgusting and must be more expensive than home cooked meals. Cant they do a big vat of spag bol or a big lasagne? My kids would turn their nose up at that too. Complain!

pooka · 21/06/2008 08:39

God, dd's school meals are WAY WAY WAY more appetising and healthy than THAT.
Is appalling - food, and good food, essential for recovery IMO.

Original poster
ChirpyGirl · 21/06/2008 08:40

We did complain and were just told that it was an outside catering company [like that makes a difference!]

I also made no secret of bringing scotch pancakes and other snack things for dd1, fgs, she had a stomach virus or campolybacter and it just wasnt on!

glad [so far] that i am not bu, dh and i werent sure if we were or not as everyone else seemed perfectly happy to feed their children this crap.

OP posts:
belgo · 21/06/2008 08:41

Send a written letter of complaint, and make sure you include the Smash!

Original poster
ChirpyGirl · 21/06/2008 08:42

there was lasagne on one day but it went so fast by the time we got there it had gone [dd was in furthest room and i went to get food at set mealtimes only to find it had been there 15 mins
lunch was 12-12.30, i went at 12.15 to discover it had alll gone back to kitchen and was being put away!

OP posts:
shatteredmumsrus · 21/06/2008 08:46

Disgusting IMO

Love2bake · 21/06/2008 08:47

CG - Unfortunately many parents feed their kids that kind of crap - so the other parents probably didn't think anything of it.

belgo · 21/06/2008 08:47

chirpygirl- write all this in a letter, it really isn't on. And I fail to understand how UK hospitals can get this so wrong - I live in Belgium close to a huge hospital where the food is delicious.

AbbeyA · 21/06/2008 08:49

I should write a formal letter of complaint, hospitals should be promoting healthy eating.

herbietea · 21/06/2008 08:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MrsTittleMouse · 21/06/2008 08:59

YANBU - good nutrition is an important part of the healing process. It's really common though. I remember when I was in hospital as a youngster and I was vegetarian. They would completely ignore the menu card and the nurses would give me a beef salad and tell me to take the meat off. Luckily my family took up the slack (as you did).

sarah293 · 21/06/2008 09:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MegBusset · 21/06/2008 09:31

YANBU. When DS was in hospital with bronchiolitis at 9mo, the only food they offered was heavily salted mashed potato and cauliflower cheese -- totally unsuitable and vile.

FrannyandZooey · 21/06/2008 09:33

god that's rubbish isn't it
even some plain boiled pasta with tomato sauce from a jar would be ok IMO

I don't reckon ds would eat any of that (although faced with dire food in the past has pronounced it 'delicious' so what do I know )

pointydog · 21/06/2008 09:38

Hospital food is rubbish and unfortunately there is very little chance of that ever changing. The scale of the undertaking, the logistics and the lack of political will.

aDad · 21/06/2008 09:39

Not good.

DD1 was in an otherwise excellent children's hospital for 3 days back in October, but my one complaint about the whole stay was that she not offered ANY food at all for nearly 48 hours. This was due to being moved around a bit, but still it seems unacceptable.

We were bringing food in and with her 24/7 but it seems shocking that this kind of thing can happen.

pointydog · 21/06/2008 09:41

The children's hospital near me is always able to offer toast, drinks, yoghurts, soup at wjatever time.

ProfYaffle · 21/06/2008 09:45

YANBU. We had a similar situation when dd1 was in hospital, the only hospital food she ate over a 2 day period was sweetcorn, she existed on snacks we just happened to have with us (emergency admission) We ended up discharging her early because we just wanted to get her home to have some decent food.

When I've been in hospital I've never eaten their food, when I had dd2 (planned cs) I arrived with a bag full of quiche! Dh however has no palate and always happily troughs the slop

Blu · 21/06/2008 09:47

That sounds really horrible -

DS has recently been in hospital for a week and I was moderately impressed with the choice and standard of lots of the food, so it doesn't have to be vile - but I still took in fresh veg and microwaved it in the rudimentary 'parents facilities', and home-cooked chicken, slices of smoked trout, home-made sandwiches, halved avocados etc to tempt him to eat nutritious food that he would enjoy.

At the hospital we were at the halal, caribbean and kosher food options were much better, having been supplied by smaller, outside, concessions! Especially the caribbean and halal - like yummy takeaways, but a bit spicy for DS

ManchesterMummy · 21/06/2008 10:32

YANBU.

DD was in hospital at 5 days old and I got to stay and eat as I was breastfeeding. It was basically chips or nothing.

I felt very sorry for a little girl, probably around the age of 8, in front of me in the queue one evening though. She was offered chips, weird meat shapes etc but asked for a baked potato with beans. Woman serving looked at her like she was mad and kpet on asking "Are you sure...". Then the little girl asked if she could have the rather wizened-looking apple presented. Woman tried to make her eat bright pink ice cream instead...

harpsichordcarrier · 21/06/2008 10:37

yanbu
I ws once with my niece at GOSH and she was presented with a plate of mince, which was absolutely literally grey
I was so furious that I took it to the catering person and asked them to eat a fork full! which they wouldn't
it makes me so angry, really.

Boco · 21/06/2008 10:40

Children's hospital in Poland was amazingly bad for food.

breakfast was a cube of grey fishy pork meat - just the smell of it had us both gagging. Seriously.

Lunch was a slab of grey pork and some cabbage.

Dinner was a slice of ham in jelly and a bread roll.

The only drink they served dd (age 3) was strong black tea.