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Original poster

NHS Hospital Food "unacceptable"

35 replies

GloriaInEleusis · 17/12/2007 09:00

Ah, a news article I can agree with. The food I received in the hospital here was vile. Not only did it taste bad but it had very little nutrition in it. Shouldn't a hospital be concerned with our health, including nutrition?

I do appreciate they have a budget to work to, but really the food is atrocious.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7144557.stm

OP posts:
moondog · 17/12/2007 09:02

Yes was shite.
Worse than boarding school and boy is that saying something.

RubySlippedonastraymincepie · 17/12/2007 09:04

i thought Loyd Grossman was brought in a few years ago to improve things

clearly hasn't worked

agree re your point about the food lacking in nutrition. When you are ill and run down you need food to help build you back up again

additionally, if you are in hospital long term, then your mealtimes are something you look forward to, to break the day up

moondog · 17/12/2007 09:05

Lloyd Grossman.

The man who flogs slop in a jar.

Yes, he was helpful wasn't he?

YuleLoveHekateAtSolstice · 17/12/2007 09:05

Dear GOD it is foul stuff.

On the plus side, every time I am admitted I lose an average of a stone.

Sadly, I put 2 on when I get out.

I think they spend about 40p per person, don't they? Prisons spend about £1 something

It really really needs addressing - and NOT by giving people the option to pay for better meals (I've heard that stupid idea suggested before "Here's your inedible slop Mrs Jones, you have a go at that while Mrs Smith next to you enjoys her lovely lasagne, mmm, doesn't it smell nice. If only you weren't so poor/had some cash with you/had relatives to sort it out/etc, you too could have eaten well. Ho-hum.

RubySlippedonastraymincepie · 17/12/2007 09:06

the food i had when i was in hospital last time was disgusting - think the plate would have tasted better

ChopsterRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 17/12/2007 09:06

it was awful. I got dp to bring me in food from home. It had no flavour at all!

Oblomov · 17/12/2007 09:11

Last month the food at Kings was o.k.
But then, I like aeroplane food, so don't listen to me

edam · 17/12/2007 09:27

Blame Thatcher - she forced hospitals to contract out catering so most of it is cook-chill, prepared off site. There is no way you can get hundreds of cook-chill meals around a hospital site without what quality there is deteriorating.

It's like cleaning - bring it all back in house and pay a decent rate so caterers and cleaners can do a proper job. Contracting out just means cutting corners.

ArmadilloDaMan · 17/12/2007 09:29

HTe stuff I had when I was in with ds wasn't bad - when I got it.

But TBH it was a couple of days before they gave me anything so it could have been shite and I wouldn't have cared.

(there was no medical reason I couldn't eat - the reason I didn't get food was cos I was bedridden and you could only have your food in the dining room )

Anna8888 · 17/12/2007 09:31

Oh yes, it's gross.

When I was in hospital after giving birth, the midwife who welcomed me onto the ward warned me not to touch the food but to get my visitors to bring in food if I wanted to avoid constipation and to get my strength back.

amidaiwish · 17/12/2007 09:39

after DD1 was born the mw said i could go home once i'd had a poo

lunch came - white bread cheese sandwich, packet of cheese & onion crisps, a milky way and a banana.

my response: you expect me to poo on that? and promptly left hospital.

what a joke.

Original poster
GloriaInEleusis · 17/12/2007 10:26

I'm not sure I mind so much whether the food is cooked on site or not. But I do mind what the ingredients are. And there was some really unhealthy stuff in my umm... pasta with horrid sauce. I can buy frozen ready meals at the shop that are way better thean what come up. So if frozen off site preparating keeps the cost down, I can actually live with that.

I wouldlike to see nutritional labesl and list of ingredients ao all served food (and that goes for hospitals and schools alike).. Why not? I can turn the box over in the store and see what it's made out of. What don't schools and hospitals have to reveal the same information?

OP posts:
flowerytaleofNewYork · 17/12/2007 10:31

My experience of hospital food is the 'main' meal is at lunchtime, only sandwiches at dinner time. If you're not in the right place at the right time to order any cooked lunch you don't get any - for example if you're moving about having contractions or between labour ward and delivery suite. Then the same for sandwiches later on. I had leftover sandwiches both days when I was in and had to rely on midwives making me toast otherwise, or DH bringing stuff in. No wonder I insisted on going home before I was ready so that my mum could cook me a proper meal and I could get some sleep.

Kathyate6mincepies · 17/12/2007 10:33

Amidaiwish, that was exactly what I thought when I was in hospital having dd
On the one hand they are giving you leaflets telling you to eat fibre. On the other hand the only fibre they are giving you to eat is a single lettuce leaf inside a white bread ham sandwich.

lubyluby · 17/12/2007 10:47

i actually don;t mind the food at our hospital but mayeb thats through a few years of eating it as i work there, maybe i am just used to it.

to be fair, the hopsitla i work at ahs a menu and you get to choose forma fair few options, usually a traditional dish like shepards pie or roast, some kind of pasta and then healthy options, as well as halal, kosher and vegetarian options.

and friday theres always fish and chips on the menu. not up to the chippy standarsdss but edible.

so i ahve to sya ours isn;t too bad, the onyl tioehr hopsital i stayed in was a private hopsital and that was like eating ina very nice restaurant, but then you paid for the privilige.

lubyluby · 17/12/2007 10:49

oops apologies for all the typos, i forgot to proof read and it shows!

SueBaRoomForAMincePie · 17/12/2007 17:27

Our local hospital's food is lovely, but it is the first and only hospital I've been in where the food has been edible. I've been in Wolverhampton hospital and the food was as shite as the football team..

Magrat · 17/12/2007 17:28

tick for kosher or halal .. it is prepared elsewhere and whilst not delicious is adequate and nutritious

ScarletA · 17/12/2007 17:30

When my mum had a stem cell transplant at St Barts the food was unspeakable. I can eat anything but I could not have eaten what they gave her. She was feeling very sick after all the chemo and did not eat a thing for over a week. I mean - Smash ffs. THought that went out in the last century.

expatinscotland · 17/12/2007 17:30

I always bring my own food to hospital.

When I gave birth to DD2, they gave me a sandwich that even DH didn't find edible - and he will eat just about anything.

He came back duly armed with a takeaway from my fav Indian restaurant.

I even bring in my own snacks like flapjacks, granola, dried fruit, etc.

I eat little, often and didn't like the whole mealtime thing.

camillathechicken · 17/12/2007 17:32

when i was brought my lunch after having DD, the auxillary handed it to me, and said, 'sorry, i cannot give you that, it is inedible.' DH went to the canteen to get me something, which was marginally better.

more worryingly, is not just the lack of good, decent food, but if you are elderly, or immobile, and oyu cannot reach your food and feed yourself, then you go hungry. no-one has the time to sit and feed the vulnerable

my grandma has been in hospital recently, and the food was foul, my mum and various other friends and relatives took food every single day for her. god knows what would have happened if they had not been able to do that

also, she left hospital totally dehydrated

camillathechicken · 17/12/2007 17:33

i also ordered the kosher option when i was in one time when pregnant with DS, and was told it was not availble, would i like roast pork in apple sauce instead ! no, i fecking wouldn;t !!!

SueBaRoomForAMincePie · 17/12/2007 17:35

You ordered kosher and they offered you pork?? That's completely mad.

wheresthehamster · 17/12/2007 17:36

Admittedly a few years ago now, but can I say that Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow and The Rosie at Cambridge dished up delicious food in the maternity wards. I used to look forward to meal times and I bet not many people in hospital ever say that

Myrrhcy · 17/12/2007 17:36

The longest I've been in hospital is 5 days and tbh I found the food absolutely fine - just not enough of it though (although I was 5 months pregnant at the time and always hungry)

Agree with flowery that soup and/ or sandwiches isn't enough for an evening meal when many people have their main meal at night - and they serve it so early!

Plus I didn't like being woken up at 6am and then having to wait over an hour (or longer) to be given something to eat.

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